


Tony’s Greatest Creation

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:20:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25786513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tony Stark and Amberly Rose high school sweethearts straight through college. They were married a year after they graduated and in November of 1993 Amberly got pregnant.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Original Female Character(s), Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Tony’s Greatest Creation**

  
  


Tony Stark and Amberly Rose high school sweethearts straight through college. They were married a year after they graduated and in November of 1993 Amberly got pregnant. Then in March of 1994 they found out they were having a baby girl. Tony was thrilled about having a daughter. He would brag about his baby girl with anyone who would listen,Obadiah Stane being one of them. Amberly only had four months left of her pregnancy and they finally thought of a name for their little girl. Tony couldn’t tell that Amberly wasn’t as excited about Chalsea as he was. She would always put on a show when he was around and then July 21,1994 came along and Amberly went into labor. 

Tony rushed her to the hospital as quickly as he could where they got her set up in a room and at exactly 3:41 in the afternoon Chalsea Marie Stark was born. Tony was a crying proud mess that day. When he held his daughter in his arms for the first time and saw her little heart shaped face with her cute little button nose he was in love. He couldn’t wait to bring her home and introduce her to all the bots. He knew from the moment she was born and he held her against his chest that she was his greatest creation. He vowed to tell her everyday how much he loved her and how proud of her he was and that she would always be his greatest creation and nothing he ever built would compare to her. 

As Chalsea got older Tony started to notice a change in Amberly he would ask her about it but she would just brush it off as nothing. It started out with little things she would forget to feed or change Chalsea’s diapers. Then it moved on to her leaving Chalsea in her nursery crying and screaming at the top of her lungs. Once Chalsea started to crawl Tony really had to upgrade the baby proofing of the mansion. When Chalsea two Tony had created a protocol that would keep her from opening the doors. That came about when Tony got an alert from J.A.R.V.I.S that Chalsea had gotten outside and was walking down the driveway. He ran from his workshop where he was putting together Chalsea’s first bike. 

He cried in relief when he swept her up into his arms and brought her back inside where he asked J.A.R.V.I.S where Amberly was. Upon finding her in their room, sleeping. He was furious because she was supposed to be watching Chalsea while he was putting the bike together. That prompted him to call Happy to come and take Chalsea out for a few hours. She was thrilled to be spending time with Uncle Happy that she had no clue her mommy and daddy were about to have a fight. Once he knew Happy was on the highway and heading towards the ice cream shop he stormed into his room and woke up Amberly 

Their fight lasted for five hours where Amberly broke down crying and promised she would change and be a better mother to Chalsea. She kept that promise for about a month when she went back to her same old routine. She started ignoring Chalsea again but only acknowledging her when Tony was around. Everything was going great or so Tony thought, he had the perfect daughter and what he thought was the perfect wife he never thought she would leave. 

Then the day came two years later and Chalsea was four; she was at preschool unaware that her mommy would not be there to pick her up when she got done school. When the school bell rang and Chalsea had on her coat and backpack she went outside to wait patiently for her mommy but she never came. After three hours a teacher was walking out of the school to go home for the night when they saw her still standing there in the cold with only a thin coat on. They brought her inside and called Tony who was furious to find out his wife never showed up to pick up their daughter. He tried to call her but got no answer so he drove to the school as fast as he could without getting pulled over by the police. 

When he ran into the office he saw his daughter sitting on a bench by the window. He rushed up to her kneeling down on the floor in front of her. He took her into his arms and she wrapped her tiny arms around him as much as she could. He thanked the teacher for calling him before taking his daughter out to the car to go home. When they got there he told her to go sit on the couch and watch cartoons and he would bring her some cookies and a glass of warm milk. In the kitchen is where he found it. A letter from Amberly and in that letter she wrote that she was never coming back. She never wanted to have kids that’s why she treated Chalsea the way she did. That she was planning to leave him for years which is why she already had divorce papers waiting for him when he got home. 

She packed all her things and left while Tony was at the school picking up Chalsea. He opened the envelope with the divorce papers to see Amberly already signed. He didn’t trust the papers so he called his lawyer's to read them and if they found anything that shouldn’t be there to draw up new ones. Tony stayed in the kitchen for twenty minutes not knowing how to tell his daughter that mommy wasn’t coming home. He knew it would be one of the hardest things he will ever have to do. So he took a deep calming breath and went off to find his daughter right where he told her to be with a big bright smile on her face. He loved that smile and swore nothing would take it away from her and he knew already that this was going to do exactly that. But he didn’t have a choice. 

He had to tell Chalsea before she started to ask where her mommy was, so he sat down next to her and told her to come and sit on his lap. She climbed up into his lap happily but she could tell something was wrong. He reluctantly told her about her mother and she didn’t understand at first but when she finally did she broke down in tears. Tony didn’t know what to do so he just held her close and let her cry into his chest until she fell asleep. He laid her down on the couch and gently put the small fluffy white blanket over her to keep her warm as she slept. 

He had J.A.R.V.I.S keep watch over her while he went down to his workshop where he knew he wouldn’t wake her. Once behind the closed glass door of the workshop he broke down screaming at the top of his lungs in anger at Amberly. He would never forgive her for leaving and breaking their daughter's heart. He vowed to never let her back into their lives ever again they were better off without her. His lawyers finally got back to him with a whole new set of divorce papers and custody papers granting him full custody of Chalsea. He signed both set of papers and his lawyers set off. 

The first few months after Amberly left were hard, Chalsea would wake up every night screaming and crying from nightmares. Tony had to bring her into his room at night to sleep because when she was with him she didn’t have any nightmares. As the months went on Chalsea slowly started to get better and sleep in her own room without having a nightmare. She didn’t go back to school after that day. She was so traumatized that every time Tony brought her close to the school she would freak out. So he had to home school her until she was ready to go back to regular school. 

She was never ready to go back to regular school so home school went on as normal. Tony was shocked to find that just eight years old she was learning at fifth grade level. He knew she was smart but he didn’t know she would take after him in that department. He was proud of her though and supported her the whole way. By the time she was eleven she was doing eight grade work. Tony wanted her to have a semi-normal childhood so he never let her down in his workshop. He helped her build her first bot at twelve and he was happy that she was finally starting to get over her mother leaving. 

Chalsea never talked about her much after she turned six, she slowly started to forget what she looked like and who she was but she would never forget what she did to her. That would stay with her for the rest of her life. By thirteen she never thought about her mother again, she had her father, Uncle Rhodey and Uncle Happy along with her Aunt Pepper, her Uncle Happy’s wife. She had everyone she would ever need right by her side and she couldn’t ask for a better family, though her father has tried multiple times to get her to trust Obadiah Stane but she never could. There was just something about him that gave her the chills but she could never quite figure out why. 

That was until 2008 when her father was kidnapped and no one could find him though her Uncle Rhodey never gave up the search. What they didn’t know was that they wouldn’t find Tony for three months after he was taken. They had no clue who had the hit put out on Tony, but Chalsea had her suspicions. But she couldn’t say anything because she didn’t know if it was true or not so she had to wait and bide her time. This is where it all begins, Hi I’m Chalsea Stark so please sit back and enjoy the story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: The Kidnapping Of Tony Stark**

  
  


Chalsea Stark was just walking out of her childhood home to go swim in the pool a few weeks after her fourteenth birthday. Her Aunt Pepper was at the house with her as her father had to go and present a new missile to the army. She was just about to jump in the pool when her Aunt called her over to the lounge chair. “Chalsea, your father is on the phone.” Pepper calls out. She rushes over to her Aunt and takes the phone from her outstretched hand. “Hi daddy.” Chalsea says happily. “Hey baby girl, are you being good for your Auntie Pepper?” Tony asks her cheerfully. “Silly daddy, I’m always a good girl.” Chalsea giggles happily. 

“That’s my girl, now you know I won't be back for a few days so I’m going to need you to check on the bots for me while I’m gone. Can you do that for me baby girl?” Tony asks her. “I can do that daddy! And if Dummy-E makes a mess I’ll tell him you are going to use him for parts.” She replies. “Good girl, I have to go now. I love you my greatest creation. I will see you in a few days. Put your Auntie Pepper back on the phone.” Tony speaks softly. “I love you too daddy! Here’s Auntie Pepper now.” Chalsea answers happily. She hands Pepper back the phone and runs back to the pool and jumps in. 

Pepper talks with Tony for a few more minutes before hanging up. “Auntie Pepper, my hair got stuck behind my ear ring and it’s pulling.” Chalsea calls out. “Alright, come her sweetie I’ll fix it.” Pepper replies. Chalsea climbs out of the pool and walks over to her “Sit down sweetie.” Pepper says softly. “Thanks Auntie Pepper.” She smiles. “Your welcome sweetie, you stay in the shallow end I’m gonna go make you some lunch.” Pepper replies. “Ok Auntie Pepper.” Chalsea comments while going to the shallow end and sitting down with her feet in the water. 

“Auntie Pepper, I’m going to go dry off and put some dry clothes on.” Chalsea calls out as she walks inside. “Ok, sweetie.” Pepper calls back. She skips up to her room humming happily she goes into her bathroom and takes a warm shower before changing. “Chalsea lunch is ready.” Pepper calls up to her. “I’m coming Auntie Pepper.” She calls as she walks out of her room. She skips into the kitchen and over to the table and sits down in her purple chair. “Chicken nuggets with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and cheese. Just the way you like it.” Pepper smiles as she places the plate on the table in front of her. “Thanks Auntie Pepper. “Your welcome sweetie.” Pepper replies.

Chalsea eats her lunch happily in silence while Pepper cleans up around the kitchen “Auntie Pepper I finished my lunch. I’m gonna go check on daddy’s bots now.” Chalsea explains. “Ok sweetie, but you be careful down in your father’s workshop alright.” Pepper tells her. Chalsea nods in understanding before rushing off to her father's workshop. She smiles happily as all the bots surround her and beep happily. While she is down in the workshop Rhodey calls Pepper. 

“Rhodey, what’s going on? Tony said he would call later unless something came up.” Pepper states curiously. “Pepper, Tony’s been taken.” Rhodey signs out sadly. “Oh no, how do I explain this to Chalsea.” Pepper replies frantically. “I have all my people out looking for him now. I’m on my way there as we speak. I thought it would be better if I told Chalsea myself.” Rhodey explains. “Yeah, that would be best. It would make her feel better if it was coming from you.” Pepper agrees. “Where is Chalsea now?” Rhodey asks. “She is done in the workshop checking on the bots. Tony asked her to check in on them while he was gone.” Pepper comments. 

“Good that gives me enough time to get there. I’m flying one of the jets myself so I should be in the US no later than four o’clock.” Rhodey explains. “Alright, I’ll see you then.” Pepper replies before they hang up the phone. “Ow Dummy-E, take your claw out of my hair.” Chalsea exclaims. The bots whirs sadly as he removes his claw from her hair and rolls over to a corner and stays there. 

She hears the doorbell ring from down in the workshop and she makes her way back upstairs just as Pepper is walking to the door. The door opens to reveal a woman with short red hair and blue eyes. “Can I help you?” Pepper asks the woman. “I’m Amberly Stane, I’m here to get my daughter.” The woman replies. “You need to leave, you're not supposed to be here. You caused them enough heartbreak.” Pepper demands while stepping in front of Chalsea to block her from view. “She is my daughter and I will be taking her with me.” Amberly replies. Chalsea not wanting to go with the woman runs to her room and hides in the hidden room in her closet. She grabs her phone for emergencies and calls her dad but he doesn’t pick up so she tries her Uncle Rhodey. 

“Chalsea what's wrong?” He asks her worriedly. “There’s a woman here trying to take me away. She said I was her daughter.” Chalsea explains. “Where are you right now?” Rhodey asks her in a panic. “I’m hiding in the secret room in my closet.” She answers. “That’s a good girl. I need you to stay there. I'm on my way ok.” He orders her softly. “Ok Uncle Rhodey.” She whispers. She puts her phone down when she hears a car pull up to the house and her Uncle’s voice. “Hello Amberly, you're looking well for someone who walked out on her husband and daughter ten years ago.” Rhodey states while moving to block her from entering the house. 

“James I see you're still hanging around. Haven’t gotten sick of Tony and his little brat yet?” Amberly snarks back. “Tony is my best friend and brother and that little girl inside is far from a brat. She is one of the kindest, most loving and selfless and playful little girls I have ever met. You would know that if you stayed and not walked out and left her alone in the cold in the rain at school for three hours.” Rhodey hisses. “I’ll get her back.” Amberly growls. “No you won’t those divorce papers you signed also stated that you gave up all rights to Chalsea the moment you signed them. Tony’s lawyer’s made sure that section was written in bold and underlined, so please try and take it to court. The judge will take one look at those papers and see that exact section and you will lose because they will know that you saw it but you didn’t care.” Rhodey threatens.

Ambery growls at him one last time before turning around and heading for the limo that she arrived in. “Something doesn’t add up here Rhodey.” Pepper speaks up as Rhodey shuts the door. “What do you mean?” He asks her. “What are the chances that Amberly shows up the same day as Tony comes up missing and tries to take Chalsea. She also introduced herself as Amberly Stane when I asked her what she was doing here.” Pepper explained. “We will figure that out later, our main concern is finding Tony.” Rhodey comforts her. 

A few moments later Chalsea walks into view “Uncle Rhodey!” She shouts running up to him. “Hey sweetheart, come on we have to talk.” Rhodey comments sadly. He takes her to the couch and sits her down while sitting on the coffee table in front of her. “This is going to be hard for you but sweetheart your dad has been taken. Now don’t worry we have everyone looking for him. We will get him back.” Rhodey tells her gently. Her eyes fill up with tears that fall slowly down her cheeks. 

Rhodey pulls her into his arms and holds her close as she cries into his chest. “Please find daddy Uncle Rhodey.” She cries softly. “I will sweetheart. I will if it’s the last thing I do.” He vows. She sniffles as she pulls out of the hug “I’m gonna go up to my room now Uncle Rhodey. “ She says quietly. Rhodey and Pepper watch as she walks up to her room and out of sight. “We have to get him back Rhodey, she can not go with Amberly.” Pepper replies. “We will get him back Pepper.” Rhodey comments. 

“I have to go now, I’m leading the search for Tony. Don’t answer the door for anyone. J.A.R.V.I.S will keep the door and windows locked at all times.” Rhodey explains. “Alright Rhodey.” Pepper replies. Once he leaves Pepper shuts and locks all the doors and J.A.R.V.I.S activates the security system. A little while later Pepper goes up to check on Chalsea but she’s not in her room. Pepper looks all around the house until she finds her asleep in Tony’s bed with one of his hoodies on. 

Not wanting to wake her Pepper quietly and leaves her to rest. Happy comes over an hour later to help Pepper in case Amberly came back. They sat on the couch with a full view of the front door and the stairs. They both check on Chalsea regularly throughout the night to make sure she is sleeping peacefully. They do notice the tear tracks on her checks every time they check on her. They know it’s going to be hard for her not having Tony around and they hope he is found soon. Because it will be a cold day in hell when they let Amberly take her away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Three Months Later**

  
  


Ever since Tony was taken Chalsea has slept in his room every night for three months that his sheets are starting to lose the smell of his cologne. Amberly has still been coming to the house trying to take her but her Uncle Happy and Auntie Pepper wont let her. It was a rare day when Amberly didn’t show up and Pepper and Happy told her to get dressed. They had a surprise for her. Curious on what the surprise may be she quickly went up to her room to change. She was down and out in the car in twenty minutes dressed in a pair of shorts and purple t-shirt and sneakers. “What is the surprise Auntie Pepper?” She asks as Happy drives down the driveway. 

“Well it wouldn’t be a surprise if we told you now would it sweetie?” Pepper asks her with a small smile. “No.” She sighs in defeat. She watches in confusion as they pull up at the military base her Uncle Rhodey works at. Pepper and Happy stand by the back door and let her out of the car and walk a little ways away. Chalsea stands in front of her aunt and uncle as a huge plane lands a few feet away from them and the door opens slowly. She watches on in confusion as she sees her Uncle Rhodey helping someone walk down the ramp and upon looking closer she recognizes the facial hair. 

“Daddy!” She shouts. Tony quickly looks away from talking with Rhodey to see his daughter standing with Happy and Pepper. He moves away from Rhodey and meets his daughter halfway falling to his knees in front of her as she runs into his arms. She hides her face in his neck as she cries tears of joy. “Oh my baby I’m home now.” Tony tells her soothingly. “I’ve been sleeping in your room.” She sniffles. “Oh baby girl, everything is ok now I’m back.” He whispers while placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Daddy, some woman has been coming to the house and trying to take me away.” She replies while pulling back to look at him. 

Tony looks over her shoulder to Pepper and Happy “Amberly.” They both mouth to him. “Well you don’t have to worry about her coming back baby girl because I’m home now.” Tony tells her. He stands back to his feet and holds her hand as they walk towards the car. Tony climbs in the backseat after his daughter and she instantly latches onto him. “Chalsea sweetie be careful.” Pepper says while turning to look back at her. “It’s fine Pep. She’s not holding onto me tight.” Tony replies, waving her off and pulling his daughter closer. 

“To the hospital Happy.” Pepper speaks while gently touching his arm. “No, I need you to put together a press conference and I need a good fashioned american cheese burger.” Tony comments. “Tony you really should see a Dr.” Pepper points out. “No, I will do that later. Right now I need to have a press conference.” Tony replies. “Alright.” Pepper sighs. Happy drives to the closest burger joint and gets Tony as many burgers as he wants. Then they finally arrive at Stark Industries and make their way inside. Chalsea stays off to the side with Pepper where they are approached by a man in a suit. 

“Hello Mrs Hogan, I’m Agent Phil Coulson with  Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. I’m here to debrief Mr Stark on his time in captivity.” Agent Coulson explains. “Ah yes, they said you would be stopping by, Mr Stark is not available at the moment as he would like to get through with this press conference then go home and make up for lost time with his daughter. I will have to make an appointment sometime this week.” Pepper replies. Agent Coulson looks down at Chalsea and gives her a kind smile that she returns “Hello, I’m Phil Coulson, what’s your name?” He asks her politely. “I’m Chalsea,” She replies shyly. 

“Nice to meet you Chalsea.” He smiles while shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you as well Agent Coulson.” She whispers. “You can call me Phil.” He smiles down at her before turning back to Pepper. “I’ll leave you with my card and you can call and we can set up an appointment.” Phil replies while handing Pepper and Chalsea his card. They both take the cards and Chalsea waves bye as he walks away. The room erupts into loud questioning as Tony walks away back to Pepper and Chalsea. 

“Let’s go home Baby girl.” Tony smiles as he takes Chalsea’s hand in his as they walk from the building. In the car on their way back home Chalsea noticed a light coming from her father’s chest. “Daddy, why is there a light coming from your chest?” She asks him curiously. “I’ll explain when we get home, baby girl.” He tells her while placing a kiss on the top of her head. She nods in understanding and remains silent for the rest of the drive home. Pepper and Happy leave Tony alone so he can be with his daughter and make up for lost time. 

Tony takes Chalsea into the living room and sets her down on the couch and takes a seat on the coffee table in front of her. “Now baby girl what I am about to tell you will be hard for you to hear but you deserve to know what happened.” Tony begins by taking her hands in his and holding them in his lap. “Did the people who took you hurt you?” She asks him quietly. “They did baby girl. They wanted me to make them weapons but I refused so they tortured me until I agreed. But I didn’t make what they needed, I made this instead to help me get out of there.” He explains while lifting his shirt up and showing her the arc reactor in his chest.

Her eyes fill up with tears as she takes in all the marks on her father’s chest and the cut’s and bruises on his hands and arms. “Does it hurt?” She asks as the tears slowly fall down her cheeks. “A little bit but I will get used to it. This device is helping me stay alive. The people who took me set off a bomb by the truck I was in and a bunch of shrapnel was embedded into my chest. So this is like a big magnet that keeps it from reaching my heart.” He tells her while gently wiping the tears from her cheeks.

She looks back to the glowing device in her father’s chest and reaches up to touch it but she stops in fear of hurting him. Tony seeing her fear takes her hand gently and places it over the reactor lightly. “See baby girl, I’m gonna be just fine.” He replies reassuringly. “Daddy, do you know who that woman is who keeps coming to the house trying to take me?” She asks him quietly. “She’s your mother baby girl.” Tony sighs. “But I don’t remember her and if she’s my mother, why wasn't she around before?” She looks up at her father with big round doe eyes full of curiosity.

“I was hoping I would have more time before I would have to tell you about her. But you deserve to know the truth.” He replies. She remains quiet letting her father think of the right words to say. “Her name is Amberly and we were together all through high school and college. A year later we got married and in November of 1993 she became pregnant with you. I thought she was just as happy and excited about you as I was. But she wasn’t, she would put on a show whenever I was around. The day you were born was the happiest day of my life and the moment I held you in my arms I knew you were my greatest creation.” He begins softly with a fond smile thinking back to the day she was born. 

“Then what happened daddy?” She asks him. “Then everything slowly started to change, I would notice she would leave you in your crib screaming and crying for hours. When you were two years old you got out of the house and were walking down the driveway. J.A.R.V.I.S alerted me that you got out while I was in my workshop making you your first bike. That day I ran faster than I have ever run in my entire life. I got you before you could get too far down and brought you back inside and had J.A.R.V.I.S lock the doors. I called your Uncle Happy and he came and got you and took you out for ice cream. I found Amberly in our room asleep with earplugs in to block out all the noise. We got into a big fight, that’s why I sent you with Uncle Happy I didn’t want you around to see that.” Tony says softly. 

“But surely you both worked it all out right? She loved us after all didn’t she?” Chalsea asks him innocently. “She promised she would change and help take better care of you. And she did for about a month and she went back to her old ways. Finally when you were four years old you were at preschool and she was supposed to pick you up that day. She never showed up leaving you out in the cold and pouring rain for three hours. One of your teachers called me and I rushed out of a board meeting at Stark Industries and straight to the school. When we got back home she was gone and left divorce papers and a note in the kitchen.” He concludes. 

“What did the note say?” She questions. “She wrote in the note that she never wanted to have any children and you were a mistake. But you listen to me baby girl, you are not a mistake and you are so loved by so many people. My father, your grandpa Howard always said his inventions were his greatest creations. The difference between him and I is that my inventions are not my greatest creation. You are and I am going to make sure you know that for as long as I live.” Tony tells her fiercely. 

“She didn’t want me?” Chalsea asks looking up at him with a quivering lip and tears streaming down her face. “She may not have wanted you, baby girl, but I will always want you my beautiful baby girl.” Tony whispers while pulling her into his arms. She cries into her father's chest until she falls asleep. He carries her up to her room but her arms are around him so tight he doesn’t want to wake her so he takes her to his room and climbs into his bed and lays down with her on his chest and places a kiss on the top of her head and he holds her close as she sleeps.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Becoming Iron Man**

  
  


In the month following Tony’s return home Chalsea wouldn't let him out of her sight and Tony was more than fine with that. She would be down in his workshop with him so she was around while he was creating what will later be known as The Iron Man Suit. She was bouncing around carefully in the lab talking to the bots when an idea struck her and she let out a gasp. “Daddy! You can become a superhero!” She exclaims. “A superhero huh?” He asks her with a soft chuckle. “Yeah, you can build the suit and go after those ban men who took you and you can destroy all the Stark Industries weapons they stole.” She explains. 

“That’s not a bad idea baby girl.” He replies thoughtfully. She skips up to stand next to him as he is writing calculations on the face plate. “You should paint the suit when you're done with it.” She comments while looking at it.”Yeah and what color should I paint it smarty pants?” He asks while tickling her side gently. She giggles while leaning away from his reach before looking around the workshop before her eyes land on one of his cars. “Oh you should paint the body of the suit red and this you should paint gold.” She replies while pointing at the part that will cover his face,

“What color red my little genius?” He asks. She runs over to the car and points at the red line from the flames. “This red daddy.” She smiles brightly at him. “Nice choice baby girl.” He comments. “Thanks daddy!” She smiles brightly. “Now do you remember the rules about what I am building down here?” He asks her. “Don’t tell Auntie Pepper because she will try to stop you.” She replies. “That’s right baby girl.” Tony smiles proudly. “Daddy! Auntie Pepper is coming, quick hide the suit.” She whispers and Tony quickly jumps up and hides the pieces of the suit in the trunk of the nearest car before crawling under to act like he was fixing it. 

“Tony it’s almost time for the party.” Pepper calls as she walks into the workshop. “I’m not going Pep,I promised Chalsea we would hang out tonight.” Tony replies from under the car. “He did Auntie Pepper, you’re not going to make daddy break a promise are you?” Chalsea looks up at her innocently. “Of course not sweetie. I guess I will go on your behalf.” Pepper replies before leaving after placing a gentle kiss on the top of Chalsea’s head. “Mrs Hogan has left the premises sir.” J.A.R.V.I.S speaks up after a few moments. “Thanks J.” Tony replies while crawling out from under the car. “That was so close daddy.” Chalsea comments. 

“I agree baby girl.” He replies with a soft chuckle. “Wait daddy, what party was Auntie Pepper talking about? You didn’t get an invite to any party since you’ve been back. Not since the board locked you out of SI.” Chalsea comments curiously. With that he realized his daughter was right so he had her go change before they left the house. Once at the venue he told her to stay in the car with Happy and he will be right back. He mingled with a few of the guests before a report walked up to him to talk about the weapons still being sold. He took her outside with him to speak with Obadiah. That’s when Tony found out he filed the junction to lock him out of his company. 

He also realized his daughter never trusted Obadiah since she was a baby. Just before Tony left to his car he spotted Amberly walking towards them to Obadiah’s side. “Hello Anthony, oh i’m going to enjoy that look on your face now that you know why you’ve been locked out of your own company.” She smirks cockily. “This was all your idea wasn’t it? You couldn’t stand the fact that my lawyers were better than yours and you didn’t get anything when you divorced me.” Tony hisses at her. “Oh poor naive Tony, it was always about the money for me. Then you had to go and get me pregnant with that little brat and I knew I was going to lose everything I worked so hard for.” She comments. 

“My daughter is not a brat and it looks like she was right not to trust you Obadiah.” Tony sneers at both of them before walking to the car. Once in the car next to Happy as he drives off Tony looks back to his daughter to see her fast asleep. “Amberly and Obadiah are together and are behind me being locked out of SI.” Tony sighs. “That makes sense on when she introduced herself as Amberly Stane when she came to the house to get Chalsea.” Happy replies. “We are going to need to up the security at the house. Now that we know who is behind all of this, I also have my suspicions that they were behind my kidnapping.” Tony comments.

“Will do Tony.” Happy agrees. He drops them both off at home and Tony carries a sleeping Chalsea up to her room and tucks her in with a goodnight kiss to her forehead. He leaves her room and goes down to the workshop where he works all night to put the Iron Man suit together. For the next month Tony goes around and destroys all the SI weapons that were sold under the table by Obadiah. Once he is down to the last shipment of illegally sold weapons he sends Pepper to his office to hack into Obadiah’s computer files. She downloads all the flies onto a black USB drive for Tony. 

Obadiah catches her in the act but he has no clue what she is doing until she is gone. Down in the lobby is Agent Phil Coulson and Pepper motions him to follow her. She explains to him what is going on as they are leaving the building. Obadiah found what she was doing and left SI quickly and headed straight for Tony and Chalsea’s. Meanwhile the father and daughter duo are unaware he is coming. Chalsea is grabbed up in her room by Obadiah and he put’s ear plugs in her ears before dragging her downstairs. He pushes a button on a small device in his hand and it causes her father to become paralyzed and bleed from his ears the longer the device is on. He roughly holds Chalsea’s arm as he pulls the reactor from Tony’s chest and places it in a suitcase. 

He roughly pulls Chalsea out of the house with him and back to the labs at SI. He chains her to a chair in the corner as he puts her father’s reactor into a suit. As he is setting the suit up they hear voices approach and she can tell one voice belongs to her Aunt Pepper and the other belongs to Agent Coulson. “Auntie Pepper! Phil!” She screams from the chair as loudly as she can. Obadiah walks over and smacks her across the face to stop her screaming “You're going to pay for that when my daddy comes.” She growls at him in pain. He smirks at her as he sneaks off and gets in the suit and hides. She hears an explosion and the door is flown open and footsteps rush inside towards her. 

“Over here!” She calls out. Pepper and Phil rush towards her and remove the chains. “He took daddy’s reactor. He has it in a suit here in the building he got in it and hid back there.” Chalsea explains while pointing to the back of the building. “Get her out of here.” Phil orders Pepper as he sees two eyes from the shadows. Not wasting another moment Pepper takes Chalsea’s hand and runs from the building. “I called Rhodey and he should be at your house now.” Pepper tells her as they run. 

Just as they get outside the ground starts to shake and a whole appears in the ground and Obadiah crawls out of it. Chalsea screams and Pepper pushes Chalsea behind her protectively. At the sound of something approaching fast Chalsea looks up to see the red and gold suit of her father. He leads Obadiah away from her and Pepper giving them a chance to escape but Amberly steps in front of them blocking the exit. Pepper looks down at Chalsea and tells her to run and find Agent Coulson. 

As Chalsea is running away Pepper and Amberly begin to fight not looking where she is going Chalsea runs into someone and lets out a scream. “Hey it’s me, Chalsea. Agent Coulson.” Phil replies and she stops screaming. He runs her to safety to wait for it to be safe to return her back to her father. An hour after they hear an explosion from SI Phil takes her back where she is met with her father. “Daddy!” She shouts as she runs to him. “Oh thank god you are safe.” He replies as he falls to his knees in front of her. 

She leaps into his arms and hugs him tight. When he pulls back to get a good look at her he notices the bruise and cuts on her cheek and lip. “Who did this to you?” He demands her gently. “Obadiah smacked me when I yelled for Auntie Pepper and Phil.” She whispers. “Who’s Phil?” He asks her in confusion. “He’s Phil, he's a Secret Agent but shh daddy you can’t tell anyone.” She whispers while pointing back at Phil. “I won't say anything baby girl.” He whispers. “Mr Stark we are gonna have to come up with some kind of cover story for this so it doesn’t get out to the public.” Phil speaks up. “Yeah sure ok.” Tony replies offhandedly as he is too busy checking over his daughter for any more injuries. 

Later that same week a press conference is held where Tony is to give a false alibi to where he was during the Iron Man fight with Obadiah Stane or as most people have been taken to calling him The Iron Monger. Tony is reading through the cards as he is standing in front of the press but one look at his little girl he knows he is making a mistake in lying to them. “The truth is.. I am Iron Man.” He comments before the room erupts and he walks off stage to his daughter who is smiling proudly up at him. They leave the press conference and head back home to finally have a moment to relax and unwind after the week they’ve had.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find it odd in later Chapter's where Chalsea calls Natasha "Mama Nat" it's because I made Natasha the same age as Tony and Clint two years older than Chalsea for the plot of this story.

**Chapter Five: Chalsea Meets The Black Widow**

  
  


Chalsea was skipping through the halls of the home gym when she bumped into a woman with long curly bright red hair. Upon closer inspection she recognizes the description Phil gave her of Nick Fury, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton. And since this is a woman and not a bald man with an eye patch and not a man in a purple hoodie and black jeans and bedhead. She can only assume this is Natasha. “You must be Natasha Romanoff.” Chalsea states while watching the woman closely. She looks up at Chalsea with lightning speed “Oh relax, I know who you are. Phil told me about you, Fury and Agent Barton. I have also been sworn to secrecy by a text from Fury so your secret is safe with me. I’m good with those, like right now I’m keeping one from my daddy. I know he is dying but I act like I don’t because I am waiting for him to tell me himself when he is ready.” She rambles. 

Natasha just looks at her in amazement. “So your the Chalsea Agent Coulson has told us about.” Natasha finally speaks up. “That’s me.” Chalsea smiles brightly. “He also told me to give you this and he was sorry that he couldn’t give it to you in person. And to tell you Happy Sweet Sixteen.” Natasha comments while pulling a black square box out of nowhere. Chalsea takes the box gently and opens it to see a gorgeous black velvet choker necklace with the S.H.I.E.L.D logo dangling from it with purple and blue stones around it. She squeals quietly in excitement as she happily removes it from the box and hooks it around her neck. “It’s exactly how I designed it. I hope it also has the lasers in it like I asked.” She comments while admiring herself in the hall mirror. 

“You are nothing like any of us imagined.” Natasha states. “What did you expect? Some spoiled little girly girl.” She asks with a laugh. “Fury did, I thought you would be like your dad locked away in a lab inventing things. And Clint thought you would be a massive tomboy from being raised by your dad.” She reveals. “Sorry I didn’t meet your expectations. I am like my dad though I just have a time frame of how much lab time I can handle and I can occasionally be a tomboy when I’m in the mood to go out with my ATV, Dirt Bike or Side by Side. or when I’m in the mood to go out and play laser tag or have a paintball tournament.” Chalsea explains. “I see.” Natasha comments. 

“Oh I’m also not spoiled. I earned the toys I have by doing chores around the house. Daddy wanted me to have a somewhat normal childhood.” She points out. Natasha hums in acknowledgement. “Well I better go before daddy finds us talking about spy stuff. Bye Natasha see you around.” Chalsea waves as she skips off back down the hall. Natasha watches as she vanishes around a corner. Chalsea skips into the gym “Hi daddy.” She calls out to him. He turns around and smiles at her brightly. “Hey baby girl.” He replies. She hops up onto the side of the boxing ring. He walks over and pulls her into a quick hug. “Hey is that a new necklace?” He asks. “Yeah, it’s a birthday gift from Phil.” She explains. 

“That’s your design isn’t it?” Tony comments. “It is, I sent it to him as a joke. I didn’t think he would take it seriously.” She laughs. “You should know by now that Phil will get you anything you ask for.” Tony points out. “I know daddy, but I don’t like to ask for things unless I earn them. You taught me that.” She replies. “I did, didn’t I? I just want to be a better father than my own dad was. He would just hand me things without me having to earn it.” He whispers. “You're an amazing dad. I wouldn’t want anyone else.” She states while giving him a tight squeeze. “Thanks baby girl.” He smiles down at her. “No need to thank me daddy, when it’s the truth.” She smiles up at him.

He shoves her away playfully causing her to giggle softly. “Hey daddy, can I go to the lake for a few days while you're away in Monaco?” She asks him sweetly. “That’s fine baby girl, just no big wild parties and no boys.” He tells her. “Of course not daddy, I will be there by myself and have my phone on at all times.” She promises. “Alright baby girl, I’ll see you when I get back.” He replies. “Bye daddy!” She calls after giving him a kiss on the cheek and running from the room. He laughs as she runs from the room before turning back to face Happy. “What am I going to do with that girl.” He laughs. “She’s a great kid, you raised her right. And it helps that she isn’t one for parties.” Happy points out. “That she is.” Tony whispers. 

Once outside Chalsea jumps into her Jeep and drives off with her music blaring loudly. Natasha watches her speed off down the driveway and sends a text off to Phil asking him to send Barton off to keep any eye on her. She doesn’t know why she did it but she feels very protective of the girl she just met. No sooner than she sent the message Phil called her. “Where is she going?” He demanded. “She asked her father if she could go to the lake while we are in Monaco. I know Barton isn’t busy right now and Fury needs you for meetings.” Natasha reports back to him. “I’ll send Barton, he will be there before she arrives.” Phil comments before ending the call. Natasha slips her phone back into her pocket and gets back to work. 

Chalsea was about twenty minutes from the lake and had her personal A.I unlock everything and turn on the lights to the house. She finally turns off onto the long winding dirt road leading to the lake house. She smiles brightly when the house comes into view a few seconds later. Once she comes to a full stop she turns off the engine and grabs her keys before hopping out of the driver's seat. She walks to the front of her jeep and stands in the middle of the yard and takes a big breath in before letting it out with a big smile on her face. She makes her way into the house where she goes to her room to change into a swimsuit with her riding gear on over it. 

She slips on her riding boots before grabbing her helmet and running out to the garage. She throws the doors open and beams at her babies. She hops onto her ATV and slowly pulls in front of the trailer holding her ski do. She hops off and hooks it up before hopping back on and driving to the water’s edge slowly. She backs up until the back of the trailer is almost in the water before stopping. She hops off and slowly moves the ski do down into the water and ties it to the dock. She takes the trailer back up to the garage and unhooks it. She slips on her helmet and speeds off to the trails laughing all the way. 

From high up in the trees Clint keeps an eye on her like he was asked to do. He’s glad he had a trail camera set up all over the place before she arrived. He watches the live feed as she speeds through the trails like she does it for a living. He’s curious when she stops at a building covered in paint of all kinds. She hops off her ATV and removes her helmet, setting it on the seat and walks over to the building and pulls on two handles opening up the side to reveal all kinds of paintball guns. “Now that is a beautiful sight.” She mutters to herself. She grabs two before going over to the table to clean, let and put them together and add the paint balls. 

She is done in record time and straps the smallest one to her leg and keeps the bigger one in her hand. She clicks a button on the side of the gun and the place lights up with huge spotlights with different colored bulbs. She hits another button and moving targets come alive; she smirks as she makes her way around sneakily and hits all the targets. She does that for twenty minutes before all different sized bots come out of the building covered in paint. She laughs happily as they chase her through the woods trying to shoot her with their own paintball guns but miss every time. After winning every round she cleans up and puts everything away and turns everything off and heads back to the house. 

Once back at the house she parks her ATV next to the garage and removes her boots and riding gear leaving her in her swimsuit. She jogs down to the dock where she proceeds to untie the ski do. She hops on and takes it out for an hour before growing tired of the water and going back to shore. She flips her hair to get rid of some of the water before brushing it back with her fingers. She makes her way back inside where she takes a war shower and changes into a pair of her dad’s basketball shorts she stole from him and a blue tank top. She goes out to the kitchen to make dinner and puts on some music. She throws a few pizzas into the oven and makes her way to the living room where she starts a fire in the fireplace. 

She sneaks a glance out the window where she knows Clint is and smirks. She goes back to acting like he isn’t there and he has no clue she’s had him made from the moment she parked outside. She keeps busy while cleaning up a few things while the pizzas cook, she hums along to the music as she moves around the house. She’s finally had enough of pretending he isn’t outside and watching her. So she slips on her hiking boots and makes her way outside after turning off the oven. He remains perfectly still as she heads in his direction and he also doesn’t make a sound. She decides to have a little fun not wanting him to know she found him yet so she purposefully caught her foot on a tree root sticking out from the ground. She falls down to her hands and knees and looks down to hide her laughter. He begins to panic because he doesn’t know what he should do. He was told to keep his location hidden from her and not approach her. But she could be hurt, he thinks, he can’t just sit there while she could be bleeding, he has to do something. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: She’s Caught A Hawk**

  
  


He watches as she moves to sit on the ground and remove her foot from the root and inspect her hands and legs for injuries. The whole time he is watching her, she is watching him with a faint smirk on her lips. She pretends to stand up before falling back to the ground and gives off a fake cry in pain. He bounces on his perch slightly contemplating his decision. “Fuck it!” He whispers, before sliding down the tree on the rope. He lands on his feet softly and rushes up to her kneeling down on the ground next to her. He begins to inspect her for further injuries completely missing the smirk she gives him. “Nice of you to join us normal people on the ground Agent Barton.” She comments. His head snaps up quickly to look at her upon the mention of his name. “Oh don’t look so surprised. I had you made the moment I pulled up. I noticed all the cameras and the purple on your vest.” She points out. 

He kneels back in shock at everything she just said. “It’s ok if you're shocked I know about you, Natasha reacted the same way. But at least she hid it well and talked back.” Chalsea laughs. “You know Natasha?” He asks, clearing his throat and shaking his head to get rid of his shock. “Yup! She is undercover as my dad’s assistant, she is spying on him for Fury to evaluate him for some sort of team.” she beams at him. “You know about that?” He comments. “Of course I know. Phil got special permission from Fury to tell me. I’m part of the reason my dad is being considered for the team.” She replies, while standing up from the ground. She brushes the dirt off her clothes and hands and looks over at him to see him still kneeling on the ground. 

“You’ve been sent here to keep an eye on me right?” She asks. At his nod she grabs him by the arm and pulls him to his feet. “Well come on then, you’ll do a better job in the house than out here. Besides it gets cold out here at night even in the summer.” She commands as she pulls him back towards the house. “Agent Coulson is going to kill me.” Clint mumbles under his breath, but she hears him anyway. “Oh don’t worry about Phil, I’ll just call him and tell him I found you. He will accept you staying in the house as he will realize you will be able to keep a better eye on me from there.” She replies, as they walk inside. “Make yourself at home, but please remove your boots. I’ll go find you something warmer to wear, you look like you could fit in my Uncle Rhodey’s clothes, if not I’m sure I can find something of my dad’s.” She comments, before walking off leaving him standing there in disbelief. 

She skips up the stairs humming quietly to herself. He slowly unlaced his tactical boots and slipped them off placing them by the door. He stands there awkwardly as he waits for her to come back down. He hears talking coming from upstairs but can’t tell what they are saying until they get closer. “Phil, stop overreacting, I didn’t really get hurt. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t notice someone spying on me. You are the one who taught me to always check my surroundings.” He hears Chalsea say as she makes her way down the stairs. He watches as she silently laughs at what he said. “Phil, that’s not very nice. No, I am not going to make Hawk soup. You know I don’t eat birds, that’s just gross. Birds are friends not food.” She recites to him. 

“How dare you! Finding Nemo is a great movie. It’s about a dad searching for his son, with a friend who forgets things from time to time. I also have not watched it too many times.” She defends herself. She hands Clint the clothes and points him in the direction to the bathroom down the hall under the stairs. He takes the clothes nodding his head in thanks before going into the bathroom. “Hey now, don’t forget you cried when we watched Bambi.” She fires back at him. She laughs at his reply as she hops up to sit on the counter in the kitchen. “Ok, Phil I won’t tell anyone about that. Your secret is safe with me. I gotta go. I made pizza and I don’t want it to get too cold.” She replies. She listens intently not noticing Clint has come out of the bathroom. “Bye Phil.” she replies before hanging up. 

“I see my Uncle Rhodey’s clothes fit?” she asks, placing her phone on the counter next to her. “Yeah, your dad’s were a little small.” He answers. She swings her legs out and jumps off the counter. “Alright cool. So do you like pizza?” She asks, pulling the pizza from the oven. “You're not like I expected you to be.” He comments. “Yeah, I know Natasha told me.” She answers. “So you know about the tomboy comment.” He asked her. “Yeah, although you are partly right in that assessment. As you probably saw the stuff I did when I got here today. But I also know how to be a girl when the need arrives.” She laughs. “You have quite the impressive toy collection out there. “ He states. “And I earned every last one of them by doing chores and interning at my dad’s company.” she comments proudly. 

She passes him a plate with four slices of pizza before grabbing hers and heading to the couch. He follows slowly and sits down in a chair next to the couch so he can see all exits. She turns the TV on to some horror movie and sits back to eat her pizza. “So have you always been a spy?” She asked him after a few minutes of silence. “Uh, no I used to be in the circus for a few years before becoming an assassin.Then Fury recruited me and I have been a spy ever since.” He replies. “You were in the circus?” She chokes out with a small laugh. “Yes, I was really in the circus. It’s where I got my code name from.” He says, before taking a bite of his pizza. 

“Did you wear a leotard?” She asks, hiding her laugh behind her hand. He chokes a little on his pizza. “Yes, sadly I used to wear a leotard.” He sighs. She sets her plate down on the coffee table before throwing her head back in a full body belly laugh. “Yeah, yeah laugh it up. The big bad spy used to wear a leotard.” He mutters. “I’m sorry but that is just too funny.” She comments between each laugh. He sets his empty plate down and sits back and pouts at her teasing him. “Oh don’t be such a big baby.” She teases. They finish the rest of the pizza and movie when she begins to get tired. She sits up and stretches letting out a yawn before standing up. “I’m gonna head up to my room. You can crash in one of the guest rooms or the couch up in the small sitting room upstairs.” She offers, before muttering a quiet goodnight and heading up to her room. 

Once up in her room and in bed Clint walks around downstairs locking all the windows and doors and cleaning up for her. He does a quick perimeter check around the lake and surrounding area before going back inside and locking the door and turning off the lights and making his way up to the sitting room. He finds an angle with a view of all the exits before relaxing on the couch. He dozes off for two hours before doing another perimeter check before going back to the house. He does a few more checks after that throughout the night and early morning. 

He was just coming back from his final check that morning when Chalsea was coming down the stairs all dressed and ready for the day. “Morning.” She calls out. “Morning.” He replies. “I was going to go out and ride and stop off at the paintball course. Do you want to tag along?” She offers. “Why not.” He shrugs, following her from the house. She leads him out to the garage “You can drive any one of them you want just not the purple one’s, those are mine.” She points out. She hops onto her dirt bike and slowly backs out of the garage to wait for him to choose. “I assure you, they all drive fast.” She laughs. He finally hops onto a black dirt bike and backs out of the garage. 

She slips on her helmet and kick starts her bike and looks over at him. “Try and keep up!” She shouts over to him before speeding off towards the trails laughing and screaming the whole way. He shoots off after her a few seconds later as she makes a bunch of twists and turns through the trails. He can hear her laughter over the noise from both the bikes as they drive up to the building from the day before. He stops next to her as they both turn off the bikes and stand them up. She walks over and opens up the gun case and grabs her guns before stepping back and letting Clint choose a gun. “Pick any gun you want.” She comments, while walking over to the table to fill up her guns. 

He chooses three small ones and a medium sized one and walks over to load up. “So are there any rules to this or do you just go in and shoot whatever?” He asks. “Where's the fun in having rules.” She smirks, before running off to find a hiding place. “This kid is awesome.” He mutters to himself as he runs off after her. He walks around stealthily and carefully not making a sound. He hears a twig snap behind him so he spins around only to be hit in the stomach by a blue paintball. He hears laughter as she runs away and hides again. They run around the woods for four hours with Clint trying to get a shot in but she ducks out of sight before he can get the chance. 

After another two hours he finally calls a truce and ceasefire because he is out of paintballs. She finally comes out of her hiding spot slowly with her gun down by her side and breathing slowly. “Your good at this, I didn’t hit you once.” He comments. “Don’t worry Hawkeye, your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone you missed a shot.” She promises with a small smile. “Thanks.” He laughs. They pack up and put their guns away before making their way back to the house. Once back at the house Chalsea finds a message from her Aunt to return home that her father was attacked in Monaco. “I have to go, can you lock up everything when you leave. I was just informed my dad was attacked in Monaco and I need to get back to him.” She asks Clint in a panic. “Yeah, go ahead get out of her and go be with your dad.” He tells her. She throws him a grateful smile before grabbing her phone and keys and running out to her jeep and speeding off down the road and out of sight.


	7. Chapter Seven: Tony Finally Reveals To Her That He Is Dying

If her car would have, she would have literally flown back home but luckily for her there were no cops out that day or she would have been pulled over and given a speeding ticket because she was going well over the speed limit. She arrived home in no time at all, her tires screeching as she came to a quick stop and parking, not even bothering to turn her car off as she ran into the house in search of her father. “Daddy!” She shouted the moment she set foot inside the door. “He is down in his workshop, Miss Chalsea.” J.A.R.V.I.S states from her left in his robotic voice. “Thanks J!” She says quickly and makes a dash for her father's workshop. The door is already open when she gets down there and she runs right in. “Daddy.” She whispered, coming to a halt next to him. “Hey baby girl, come sit down. We have to talk.” He replied, pulling a chair over next to him. 

She gingerly sits down in the chair giving her father her full attention. He sighs as he turns to face her. “There’s something I have to tell you. I should have told you when I first found out. But I didn’t and I’m sorry, I just didn’t want you worrying.” He explains, gently taking a hold of her hands. “Is this about you dying?” She asked, quietly. He looks up at her in disbelief and sits back in his chair. “You know about that?” He whispered, still looking at her in disbelief. “I heard you and J talking about it one day. I was coming down here to get you for lunch and heard it, I’m sorry for eavesdropping daddy I didn’t mean to.” She replied, her eyes welling up with unshed tears. He pulls her against his chest gently and cards his fingers through her hair soothingly. “Don’t cry baby girl, I’m not mad that you overheard. I just should have told you sooner so you didn’t have to find out on your own. But I’m trying to find a cure and I promise you I will find one I’m not leaving you anytime soon.” He promises her. 

“I know you will daddy.” She whispers against his chest. He holds her in his arms for a little while longer before releasing her. “You're all mud. Did you ride the trails again without your riding gear?” He asks, finally getting a good look at her. She is still in her short and tank top with her riding boots and she is covered in mud. “It was warm at the lake this morning. I didn’t want to overheat. I’m sorry daddy I know you always tell me to wear it.” She replied, apologizing as well for not wearing her gear. “It’s alright baby girl, but you should go and take a shower you smell.” He teases her. “Daddy! You do not tell a girl she stinks, that’s just rude.” She glares playfully, before laughing and giving him a kiss on the cheek and running up to her room. 

He shakes his head with a fond smile as he goes back to work. Once up in her room she doesn’t get in the shower right away. She grabs her phone and calls Phil. “Hello?” He picks up after the second ring. “There’s got to be something you can do to help him find a cure.” She replied, not in the mood for small talk. “There’s nothing I can do Chalsea. I’m not the boss, I want to help but I can’t go against orders while on a mission.” Phil, comments with a small sigh. “Then put me through to Fury, I can’t lose my dad Phil. I just can’t.” She whispers, trying not to cry. She can hear Phil sigh on the other end of the line. “Alright, I’ll patch you through to Fury. I won’t let you lose your dad.” He replied. “Thank you Phil.” She whispers gratefully. He says a quiet anytime before she can hear the phone ring sending her to Fury. 

“Miss Stark, I was waiting for you to call. I’m already on my way with everything your father will need.” Fury speaks up, not even giving her a chance to speak. “How did you know that’s why I called?” She asks, glaring at her phone suspiciously. “I have eyes and ears everywhere Miss Stark. I knew you would call me eventually and I was ready for it.” He answers her. “Ok, that’s cool. A little creepy but cool.” She replied, with a hint of curiosity in her tone. “I will be at your house in less than an hour.” He replied, before hanging up. As she hears the click from the call ending she looks at her phone and huffs before putting it down and going into her bathroom to shower. 

After her shower she was brushing her hair to get rid of the snarls in her long hair. She was humming to herself when she was grabbed from behind. Someone put a cloth over her mouth and forced her to breath in the chemical that made her fall unconscious in their arms. They took her out the window and up to the roof and down to the ground running off to the waiting car at the end of the driveway out of view. Down in his workshop Tony had no clue his daughter had just been kidnapped right from under his nose. Just as Fury had told her he was at the house in less than an hour with five huge boxes labeled Property Of Howard Stark. “Hello Mr Stark.” Fury says, appearing out of thin air. Tony whirls around in his chair at the sound of his voice. “Who are you?” He asked, getting his hand repulsor ready. 

“Relax, I’m here on the request of your daughter. I have brought a few things that will be able to help you find a cure for your poisoning problem. This is some of your father’s old research, you should be able to find what you are looking for in there. Agent Romanoff will be here to assist you should you require any help.” Fury explains, pointing to the boxes being carried in. “Yeah, I’m going to ask again. Who are you?” Tony demanded. “Nick Fury, I’m the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m sure Agent Coulson has told you all about me.” Fury replied. Tony puts his repulsor down and relaxes slightly. 

“How did yo get all of this?” Tony asks, walking around and looking at all the boxes. “Howard used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. all his research was left with us after he died. There was a note left with it all. Stating to give it to you when the time came.” Fury explained. Tony opened one of the boxes and pulled out a notebook. “Why now and not sooner?” He asked, looking through the book. Fury steps closer out of the shadows to stand next to him. “You didn’t need them then, now you do. Howard knew you would be too proud to ask for it. He didn’t know that you would one day have a daughter that would ask for a way to help you because she couldn’t lose the one parent she has left. Yes Coulson told me all about Chalsea and what her mother did when she was little.” Fury replied, interrupting Tony before he could ask. 

Tony looks over at his desk where a picture of him and Chalsea sat, he puts the notebook down and picks up the picture. “She always was very thoughtful of others. Of all the things I have ever invented they do not come close to the pride I feel everyday when I look at her. My greatest creation will always be her.” Tony comments, smiling down at the picture fondly. “I don’t doubt that Mr Stark. I was already here in Malibu, I was just waiting for her call. And the moment she did I was already on my way here.” Fury comments. “You said Agent Romanoff. Who is that?” Tony asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. At that moment Natasha walked out of the shadow’s in her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. “You?” Tony replied, as he fell down into his chair. 

“We sent Agent Romanoff to watch you when we got word of your poisoning.” Fury replied, as Natasha stopped next to him. “Well, alright then. Lets begin.” Tony comments, brushing off the fact that Natasha is a spy and has been spying on him this whole time. Fury gives Natasha nod before he leaves to go back to their temporary HQ. She stays back out of the way but close enough to help if he needs it. As Tony works Natasha watches with her head tilted to the side in fascination as the genius got to work fully absorbed in the research. Within half an hour he had looked through every last piece of his father’s research and found what he was looking for. “Well let’s get to work building.” Tony comments, clapping his hands once. 

Tony quickly got to work with Natasha helping him as much as she could. An hour later they had the structure set up with a triangle chip in the middle. Natasha stood behind him as a blue beam shot out of the pipe in front of Tony. He slowly turned the bean to the middle to hit the triangle dead in the center. The triangle began to glow slowly until it glowed so bright Tony had to turn the beam off. He took off his safety goggles with a wide grin and grabbed the element with a pair of tweezers. He placed the core into a new reactor and placed it in his chest and Natasha watched as the black lines vanished slowly. “Congratulations, you have just created a new element.” Natasha comments, with a small smirk. 

He looked in a nearby mirror and saw the lines gone. Before anymore can be said Tony gets a restricted phone call. “Hello?” He replied, cautiously. “”They say if you ever want a man dead, you go after his family first. Now tell me Mr Stark do you believe the same thing?” The voice of Ivan Vanko asks. Tony freezes at the sound of the voice. “You sound pretty alive for a ghost.” He comments. “You didn’t answer my question Mr Stark. Do you believe the way to kill a man would be to go after his family.” Vanko reiterates his question. “No, I don’t believe you should go after someone innocent because the man did something wrong.” Tony replied. “Your daughter is beautiful, Mr Stark. It would be a shame if something happened to her.” Vanko replies, smugly before ending the call. 

Tony freezes only for a moment before running out of the room and up to his daughter’s bedroom. He throws open the door and looks around the room frantically. “Chalsea!” He shouts, when he can’t find her anywhere. Not finding her in her room he searches the entire house. “J, where is she?” Tony asks, beginning to panic. “I’m sorry sir, my systems are just coming back online after some sort of mouth function. I can’t find Miss Chalsea’s vital signs anywhere in the house or on the grounds.” The A.I replied. Tony screams in frustration before rushing back to his workshop to get in a suit.


	8. Chapter Eight: Chalsea’s Been Kidnapped

Not even giving Natasha enough time to ask him what’s going on he is off out of the house and up into the sky. When he has a good view of the city he begins scans for his daughter hoping she was just going for a walk or a drive. “Stark, where are you going?” Natasha speaks, her voice breaking through his searching. “Call Phil, tell him Fremione has been taken again.” Tony commands, not taking his eyes away from the city. “Fremione?” Natasha asked, her voice full of confusion. “It’s her code name if anything ever happens to her. Phil thought she would need one and the two of us talked about what to use when she came in talking about Fred and Hermione from Harry Potter and how they were her OTP. Phil saw how passionate she was about it and that became her code name, only the three of us knew about it. Now I’m guessing Fury knows as well and now you do. So call Phil.” Tony replied, explaining Chalsea’s code name distractedly. 

In a dark cold room Chalsea woke up tied to a chair with only a single light coming in from the door. “Not again.” She tilts her head back and groans in frustration. She looks around the room to find a way out and lifts up on her arms to get a feel on how tight the ropes are. “Not even tight, who kidnaps someone only to tie them up with a loose rope. What an idiot.” SHe mumbles to herself, as she quickly gets to work on getting herself free from the ropes. Once she is free she slowly and silently makes her way over to the door. She looks out the little window and doesn’t find any guards but she hears footsteps moving towards her, so she moves to stand behind the door. The door opens just enough to hide her from view and the person walks in and finds the chair empty. She stealthy moves up behind the guy and notices he is one of Justin Hammer’s security guards. 

She smirked evilly and fell down and swiped the guys legs out from underneath him causing him to fall to the ground. She kicked him in the face as hard as she could, knocking him out before he could get up. She grabs his security badge and gun from his belt and silently makes her way out of the room. She has the badge attached to her pocket and the gun raised as she moves through the hallway’s trying to find the exit. She finds a room and ducks down into it as she remembers her necklace from Phil. she looks down to see if it is still there and sighs in relief when it is. Reaching up she gently pushes on the mint green stone for the eye and it starts to blink. She smiles in relief as the blinking starts knowing that her father and Phil will find her soon. Not wanting to stay in the room any longer she makes her way out the door and down the hall again. 

In his office on his phone with Natasha, Phil looks up at the sound of a beep coming from his computer and the tracking beacon for Chalsea starts up. “I got her, contact Stark and let him know I found her location. And use the code name in case anyone is listening in, I will get Barton and we will meet you at the location.” Phil commands, before hanging up and sending the location to her and Tony and grabbing Clint on his way out. Coming to a dead end hallway Chalsea lets out a scream in frustration, quickly covering her mouth at her mistake. Hearing a deep menacing chuckle from behind her, she slowly turns around to come face to face with a man she has never seen before in her life with Justin Hammer standing right behind him. “Ah, Miss Stark, you got farther than I thought you would. But you shouldn't have tried to escape, it was the only thing keeping you safe. Now my friend here has no choice but to hurt you.” Hammer replied, looking at her with his beady eyes. 

She stands back by the wall glaring at Hammer as he laughs and walks away leaving her with the big guy. She left the gun in the room she was hiding in so she had no choice but to use her hand to hand combat training. So she cracks her knuckles as she lets out a deep breath and stands in her fighting stance. The guy smirks at her and lunges forward to grab her but she dodges his hands. She gets a punch in but that just angers him more and he growls out as he finally grabs a fist full of her hair. A scream dies on her lips as he throws her up against the wall with all of his strength. She falls to the floor and she moans in pain as he pulls her back up by the neck. She tries to fight back, but his hold on her neck is too tight and she just barely kicks him in the stomach. 

His hold lessen and she falls out of his hands but she has no time to run because he recovers quickly and punches her in the jaw. She hears a crunch on impact and screams as she is overcome with intense and she can no longer fight back. He doesn’t stop punching her until she passes out from the pain. When he sees she is unconscious he leaves her on the floor and walks away laughing. The man meets back up with Justin Hammer in his office and they both laugh about what the man has done to her. A loud boom stops the two men from laughing as arrows are shot through the whole in the wall left and right. Followed by two men and a redheaded woman. The three of them are all armed to the teeth as they make their way throughout the building. 

“Barton, you go left, Romanoff you go right, I’ll go straight ahead. Keep an eye out for Fremione once you have her in your sight get her out. Keep an eye out for Stark as well.” Coulson orders as they break off. Twenty minutes later they all hear the sounds of Stark’s Iron Man suit approaching from the north. Clint turns down a dead end hall when he spots someone on the ground unconscious. He rushes up to the person to see Chalsea bloody and bruised with defensive marks on her knuckles. “I have found Fremione, taking her out of the building now.” Barton speaks out over the coms. “Is she alright?” Coulson asks, as he meets up with Stark. Clint looks over Chalsea to catalog all of her injuries. 

“She was unconscious when I found her. She has marks around her throat and her face is all bloody and her right eyebrow is busted open along with her bottom lip it also looks like her left eye will be swollen and she has defensive bruising on her knuckles so it looks like she fought back. I can’t tell if anything else is injured or not.” Barton replies. “Can she be moved?” Coulson asks, after filling Stark in on what is happening. “I could move her but I don’t want to risk it if there are injuries that we can’t see.” Barton comments. “Ok stay with her and do not leave her side. We will send word to Fury that we need a medical team to come. Stark, Romanoff and I will take care of the ones who took her.” Coulson replied, with no room for argument. 

Tony and Phil make their way together through the hall until they find a door and Tony blast it from the wall. They make their way inside and Tony stops in his tracks upon seeing who is in the room. “Hammer, you're behind this?” Tony seethes. Hammer just leans back in his chair with a smug smirk on his face and a glass of whiskey in his hand. “Don’t look so surprised Tony. I was behind the kidnapping but he was behind what happened to your daughter.” Hammer replies sugly, pointing off to the left. They both turn to see Vanko standing there with an evil smirk and a bloody lip and blood on his hands. 

Tony’s face morphs into one of pure unadulterated rage. He fires up his repulsors and without any warning he fires at Vanko hitting him right in the chest sending him flying back into the wall. Hammer’s face drains of all color as he watches the scene unfold in front of him. He drops his glass and puts his hands up in front of him as Tony turns to face him. He takes a slow threatening step towards Hammer. “Hey, it was all his idea. I’m innocent in all of this.” Hammer tries to lie his way out of it. Tony lunges forward and grabs him by the lapels of his suit jacket and roughly pulls him forward. “You can’t lie your way out of this one Hammer. You made a big mistake when you thought you could take my daughter and get away with it.” Tony hisses in his face. 

He punches Hammer in the face knocking him out and tossing him on the floor. “You got this Phil, I want to go check on Chalsea?” Tony asks, the other man. “I got this Stark.” Coulson confirms. Tony rushes out of the room in search of his daughter. He rounded the corner just as Barton turned around to aim. His steps falter as he sees his daughter on the floor before removing his suit and rushing up to her side and kneeling on the floor. “Chalsea, come on wake up, please.” Tony begs her as he gently wipes the blood from her face. Without looking away from his daughter he speaks to Barton. “Coulson told me what injuries you found and that you couldn’t move her because you didn’t know if she had any on the inside.” Tony questions quietly. 

“That’s right, I didn’t want to move her in case she had internal injuries that could cause permanent damage.” Barton confirms. Tony points behind them at his suit. “The helmet on my suit comes off, grab it and I can have J.A.R.V.I.S run some scans on her.” Tony explains to the archer. Barton moved quickly and grabbed the helmet like he was told to and rushed back to Tony’s side. The moment he had the helmet in his hands J.A.R.V.I.S got to work without even being asked to start the scans. Barton watched on in fascination as a blue light came out of the eyes on the helmet and moved up her body slowly before vanishing. “Sir, Miss Chalsea has a fracture on her left collarbone, a broken wrist, her left knee is shattered but can be repaired, her right ankle is broken from the force of a really rough kick. She has six fractured ribs and two broken ribs, I would advise against moving her. She also has severe damage to her vocal cords and I won't know for sure but she may also have a mild concussion.” J.A.R.V.I.S concludes his assessment. 

Tony drops the helmet to the floor in pure horror at the list of her injuries. After a few seconds he breaks down with his forehead on the floor next to her while grabbing her hand tightly in his. Barton, not used to seeing the billionaire in this state, takes a step back and tops on his com. “Coulson, we could really use that medical team right now. Her injuries are far worse than I thought. Stark's A.I has a list of all of her injuries and he has completely shut down and hasn’t moved since.” Barton calls out to Coulson, while fidgeting and looking around quickly for any sign of Coulson and Romanoff. Barton spins around quickly and aims his bow at the incoming footsteps. Fury steps into view and Barton lowers his bow back to his side as a medical team rounds the corner behind his boss. 

The medical team quickly rushed into action, breaking Tony out of his breakdown just long enough to notice them. He reluctantly lets go of his daughter's hand and moves back to let them work on her. He finally gets to his feet as they lift his daughter up on a stretcher and begin to take her from the building. Not wanting to leave her side he moves to follow before stopping in front of Fury and opens his mouth to say something. “Don’t worry about your suit, I will have Coulson and Agent Romanoff bring it back to your mansion. Agent Barton and I will escort you to where they will be taking your daughter.” Fury speaks up before Tony can say anything. Tony gives a stiff nod as he follows Fury with Barton following behind them to keep an eye out for any stragglers. 

They arrive at a secret S.H.I.E.L.D hospital and Chalsea is put on high priority and must be treated immediately with no questions asked. Tony goes to follow but he is held back by one of the nurses and told he has to stay in the waiting room. “Like hell I will. That is my daughter.” He hisses. “I’m sorry Mr Stark, but I can’t let you go with them. She is going to need surgery but if you don’t want to wait in the waiting room then you can wait in the observation room and watch over the surgery.” The nurse offers. “That’s more like it. Now lead the way.” Tony mutters roughly. The nurse lets out a sigh and leads the way to a medium sized room with a window leading into the operating room where his daughter is. 

An hour into the surgery Coulson and Romanoff show up and move to stand on either side of him. The three of them watch the surgery nervously and anticipation. The doctors rush around as they work to fix her injuries and stop the bleeding. Tony’s face drains of all color when the heart monitors hooked up to her flat lines for a few moments and tears begin to stream down his face. When the monitor begins to beep again he places his hand on the window. “Please, please don’t do this. You are Chalsea Stark, you are stronger than this. Fight it please don’t leave me.” He silently begs. After five hours the surgery is a success and Chalsea will make a full recovery but she won’t be able to talk all the time as the damage to her vocal cords was too much. 

She was moved to a private room to rest and recover on her own. Tony never left her side the whole time she was there. He barely slept or ate, Natasha finally brought him a cot to sleep on instead of the chair next to Chalsea’s bed. After three weeks she finally woke up and was allowed to return home with her father. She wasn’t happy that she couldn’t do anything on her own but she understood that she would need help until she was fully healed. Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton were assigned to keep an eye on her and Tony and to help Chalsea whenever she needed it. 


	9. Chapter Nine: Chalsea Moves To Stark Tower

After the events that happened with Hammer Tony moved his daughter to New York to live in the penthouse of Stark Tower. With her Aunt Pepper as the new CEO of Stark Industries her father had more time to be with her but he still had to go to certain board meetings. That was two years ago when she was still sixteen. Now she is eighteen and more beautiful than ever. She is just like her father with a little twist. She is shy when you first meet her and she won’t talk unless she is comfortable with you. She never used to be shy, she was always the outgoing playful, cheeky, fun loving prankster. But that all changed after she was kidnapped and beaten by Ivan Vanko. 

Natasha and Clint still keep an eye on her and visit her whenever they can when they aren’t on a mission. Fury also checks in regularly to see how she is doing and he also tells her about the team he is putting together. He tells her about how they found Captain America frozen in ice and how he is still alive. She is fascinated with that information as she grew up with her father telling her all about how his father always compared the two of them. She wanted to meet the Captain and tell him everything about what her grandfather did to her father. So he would know how awful his friend was. She had no idea that she would be meeting him soon however as that moment he was waking up from being frozen. 

Sitting at a small table at a cafe in New York with a fantastic view of the tower sat the one and only Steve Rogers. Captain America himself, he was doodling in an old worn out sketchbook, glancing up at the tower every few seconds. A small blonde waitress walked up and poured him another cup of coffee. “Waiting to see the big guy fly by?” She asks Steve, the latter looking up at her in confusion. “I’m sorry, the who?” Steve questions. She shakes her head with a small laugh. “The big guy. You know Tony Stark, the guy who owns that building you keep looking at. Anyways you won’t see him, he only flies to the tower when he visits his daughter. Which is almost everyday but he arrives every morning before the streets are packed and always by car. He doesn’t leave until late at night.” She explains briefly before walking away. 

Steve looks up at the tower in wonder. “So, Howard has a granddaughter. I wonder if he knew her before he died?” Steve thinks to himself. He stays at the cafe for another hour before leaving back to his small apartment that Fury had set up for him. He sits alone at a small desk in the corner of his living room and looks over Tony’s file. In the file he sees how all the rumors about him are false made up by someone looking to make a quick buck. He finds out that he married his high school sweetheart straight out of college and they had a daughter in the summer of 1994. He also learns that Tony’s wife left when his daughter was only four years old leaving her to be raised by Tony. 

Steve puts away the file when he realizes that there isn’t a picture or a name for Tony’s daughter. “Maybe I judged him wrong.” Steve thinks. He cooks himself a light dinner before trying to sleep. He barely slept that night because of nightmares from the war and the only thing he could think of to fix that was to go to the gym. Unaware that danger was coming soon. In the penthouse of Stark Tower sat the small red headed daughter of Tony Stark watching the screen as her father was in his Iron Man suit in the ocean with his new invention for the tower. She was beaming at the screen as he put the finishing touches on and flew out of the water towards the tower. “How’s it looking baby girl?” Tony asks his daughter, she smiles brightly and gives him two thumbs up. 

He smiles fondly and shakes his head. “How’s your vocal cords today?” He questions, as he lands on the balcony. “They are fine, just a little sore. So I won’t be talking for a few days.” She replies in sign language. He hides the self loathing in his eyes from her as he leaves his suit and walks into the room. “Have you taken your pills for tonight?” He asks, coming to sit next to her on the couch. He notices the grimace on her face at the mention of her pills. “Yes, I don’t have to take the pill for my vocal cords until I go to bed.” She replied. He turns her to face him so he can look in her eyes. “What was that look for when I mentioned your pills?” He asked worriedly. She looks up at him sadly. “They taste like chalk and they make me feel weird.” She replied, as she used her hand to show what she meant. 

“I know they don’t taste the best and they make you feel weird but they are so you aren’t in any pain. I wish you didn’t need them but you do, I would change this if I could. I would give anything to be able to go back in time and Change what happened but I can’t. All of this happened to you because of me and I can never tell you how sorry I am that it did. But I can tell you that I will spend the rest of my life keeping you safe and making up for this.” He vows. Chalsea looks at her father and finds all the self loathing and self blame that he has kept hidden from her. She throws her arms around her father's neck and hides her face in his chest. “Please, stop blaming yourself daddy. I don’t blame you for this I never have and I never will. You're my dad and nothing will change that.” She replies, using Morse code on his back. 

He just pulls her closer as he fights back his tears. They stay like that until they hear the elevator ding. They pull apart to see Phil walking out with a solemn look on his face. “Hey Phil, everything alright?” Tony asks, slowly standing up from the couch and walking towards the man. Chalsea watches the exchange from her seat with her head tilted off to the side. As Phil explains everything to Tony Chalsea watches as his drains of all color. She moves towards the two of them hoping to hear what Phil is saying when she catches him saying something about Barton. “Where is he?” She demands, speaking up for the first time that day. Tony and Phil jump and turn to her as they didn’t hear her approach them. 

Tony quickly moves to her side and gently places his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. “Now sweetheart, I’m sure Barton is fine. He is a very skilled and trained young man.” Tony begins before he is cut off by his daughter. “I won't ask again. Where is he?” She demands again, looking directly into Phil’s eyes. The two men share a look before Tony gives Phil a subtle nod. “He has been compromised. Thor’s brother Loki came and took the tesseract along with Barton and Dr Selvig. But don’t panic, we are doing everything we can to get him back.” Phil answered, while looking between Chalsea and Tony. The latter of the two just watches his daughter to make sure she doesn’t react badly. 

Chalsea takes a step back away from her father before turning around quickly and going back to her seat and stare out the window with a blank look in her eyes. The two men exchange a look before turning to her. “Agent Romanoff is in Calcutta to get the big guy. She should be back by the time you are caught up with the situation. We have all of our resources on the lookout for Agent Barton.” Phil explains, glancing at Tony briefly. The billionaire nods once while looking over the files Phil gave him. “I have to get back. We will find him Chalsea.” Phil states, before turning and heading off to the elevator. Tony looks up at his daughter to see her with her knees up to her chest and hugging her legs still staring out the window. 

He sets the files off to the side and moves to sit down next to her and pulls her against his side. “You heard Phil. We will get him back. Even if I have to drag him back by his ears. I know you care about him a lot and he does you, but you have to stay strong for not only yourself but for him as well. He will not want you to worry yourself sick and you know what he is going to do when he finds out you talked while your vocal cords were sore. He’s going to hang me and Phil by our toes from the top of the tower.” Tony whispers, into the top of his daughter’s head. Chalsea relaxes just slightly at her father's comforting words and glances back at him briefly before turning back to look out the window.

“What if you don’t find him in time? What if he gets seriously hurt? What if he doesn’t come back?” She finally asks, this time using her hands to sign her words. Tony can tell that she is about to panic and moves quickly to turn her to face him. “Hey sweetheart look at me. None of that is going to happen. We will get Clint back. You just have to stay strong. Do you hear me. Clint is going to be just fine when we get him back. That’s right I said when we get him back. Because I’ll be damned if we don’t bring that Hawk back.” Tony vows, never once breaking eye contact. The tears slowly start to fall from her eyes as she nods before throwing her arms around her father crying silently into his chest. 

She finally cries herself to sleep causing Tony to lift her up into his arms and carries her off to the bedrooms. Instead of taking her to her room he takes her to the room Clint frequents when he is at the tower and gently places her on the bed under the covers. He watches as she rolls over to face the middle of the bed and grabs the pillow in her hands and hugs it to her chest. He turns off the light as he leaves the room looking back one more time to check on her. He goes back into the living room and falls back on the couch and runs his hands down his face as he lets out a deep breath. “For the sake of everything good and pure, Barton you better still be in one piece when we find you for Chalsea’s sake.” Tony mutters to the ceiling before going over to the bar and grabbing a drink. 


	10. Chapter Ten: The Avengers Meet

The following day after finding out that Clint has been taken and brainwashed by a psycho prince from an alien planet finds Chalsea’s unable to leave Clint’s room for anything more than to use the bathroom and to eat. It also finds Tony in his Iron Man suit on his way to join Phil and Fury along with Natasha to help get Clint back and save the planet from Loki. Before leaving the tower Tony went to Clint’s room and took a peek in to check on his daughter. He found her curled up in the same spot in the middle of his bed where she always is. He knows he won’t get anything out of her or get her to move from the bed so he throws one last worried look her way before closing the door and taking off. 

In Germany there was a god dressed in the darkest of green and gold ever seen with hair as black as night. With him was a twenty year old archer with sandy blonde hair and still dressed in his stealth suit. Moving on to the next step in the gods plan to take over Earth. With Clint and a group of guys grabbing what they needed the god made his way outside. He forced the crowd to kneel before him all except an old man who refused to kneel to a man like him. The god got angry and fired an energy blast at the old man but it was blocked by a red and blue shield wielded by Captain America himself. Up in the jet was The Black Widow aiming the jet’s guns at the god and telling him to surrender. 

The sound of static begins in her ears before hearing the voice of Tony Stark followed by the sound of rock music as the man gets closer and lands next to Captain America. With his hands raised out in front of him at the god sitting on the steps. “Make a move reindeer games. Give me a reason to shoot you.” Tony threatened. Noticing the tone of Tony’s voice Natasha quickly has Cap put the chains on the god before Tony can actually shoot him. She lands the jet and Tony walks on and stops behind her seat as Cap pushes the god down into the closet seat. The jet quickly takes off in the direction of the helicarrier. The whole flight Tony is openly glaring at the god. 

Still upset about Clint being brainwashed Chalsea couldn’t hold off her hunger any long and reluctantly rolled out of Clint’s bed. Slowly making her way into the open kitchen and dining room combo and to the cupboards. Upon opening the cupboard closest to her she spotted the piece of paper that labeled the top shelf as Clint’s. She stood there looking at the shelf for a solid five minutes. “Miss Chalsea, are you alright? I could order something for you if you like and have it brought up and left on the table.” The voice of her father's A.I offers kindly. Her vocal cords are still sore and it didn’t help when she demanded to know where Clint was. So all she can do to answer the J.A.R.V.I.S is nod her head slowly while still looking at the shelf. 

Without another word the A.I does as he offered by sending a message to Happy who was down in the security office of the tower. Finally tearing her gaze away from the shelf and closing the door she wanders into the living room to find someplace to sit where she could get a good view outside. After twenty minutes she hears the ding from the elevator but doesn’t move from her seat. Happy walks around the corner into the living room a few minutes after the ding carrying a Burger King bah and a soda cup. Chalsea looks up when the bag and drink are placed on the coffee table in front of her. Seeing her Uncle Happy she gives him a small sad smile before looking back out the window. 

He sighs softly before sitting down on the coffee table next to the bag and removing the burger and unwrapping and placing it down. He pulls her onion rings out next and dumps them out onto the wrapper next to her burger before placing her straw in the cup of her vanilla milkshake. Turning to his niece who is watching him out of the corner of her eye. “You don’t have to eat it all, just eat as much as you can and I will put it away for later. But you have to eat something even if it is just a little bit. You need some food in your system, if you don’t your pills will make you sick. I know you're upset and worried about Clint and you have every right to be. But your dad has J.A.R.V.I.S sending him regular updates on you. Now how can he help find Clint and get him back if all his focus is on worrying about you?” Happy asks her, his voice full of concern. 

Chalsea looks at her uncle with tears in her eyes and she knows he is right so she slowly starts to eat her food. Halfway through her food she looks back at her uncle. “It’s time for my afternoon pills.” She comments, using sign language and mouthing the words as she does. Happy nods in understanding, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as he gets up to go get her pills. She slowly nibbles on the rest of her food as she waits for her uncle to return with her pills. He returns as she is taking her last bite and places the pills in her outstretched hand. Placing her pills in her mouth she uses her milkshake to wash them down. “Has there been any news?” She asks, after setting the cup back down. “I’m afraid not sweetheart. But if I find out anything I will let you know. I have to get back to work. Are you going to be alright on your own?” He asks. She gives him a thumbs up and reminds him of J.A.R.V.I.S before he goes back to work. 

Walking through the halls after removing the Iron Man suit Tony walks into the room where the others were. He makes eye contact with Natasha who quickly realizes something is wrong and not caring that there are others in the room. “Fremione?” She asks, her voice with more emotion than Steve and Bruce have heard since they arrived. “Physically she is fine. Emotionally she is devastated and extremely worried. Her vocal cords are giving her trouble at the moment so she isn’t using her voice. But when she found out about Clint, it was like everything else didn’t matter and she demanded Phil to tell her where he was.” Tony replies, hunching his shoulders. Natasha rushes up and throws her arms around the billionaire tightly. 

Everyone but Fury, Maria Hill and Phil Coulson are confused on what they are witnessing. “We shouldn’t have told her about Clint.” She comments, still holding onto Tony but standing next to him. “I had no choice but to tell her. The moment she saw me she knew something was wrong with him.” Phil points out. “He’s right Nat, she knew the moment he stepped off the elevator. The only reason she was still awake when he arrived was because Clint was supposed to be at the tower that night and she was waiting up for him.” Tony comments. “I’m sorry to interrupt but who is she and why would she be upset about Agent Barton?” Steve asks, finally speaking up and moving closer a few steps. 

The five in the room who know about Chalsea all share a look having a silent conversation. Tony gives them all a subtle nod of his approval to reveal his daughter. “She is Tony’s daughter. She’s eighteen and Clint, Fury and I all met her when she was sixteen. The only one to know her longer than the three of us is Coulson who met her when she was fourteen after Tony became Iron Man. Which was also the first time she was kidnapped. I met her when I was undercover. Of course she shocked the hell out of me when she knew who I was and why I was there. I felt an instant need to protect her at all costs which brings us to how Clint met her.” Natasha begins before being cut off. 

“Natasha called me and asked me to have Clint keep an eye on her while she was alone at their lake house for the weekend. After the call I had Barton there and set up with extra security cameras before she even arrived at the house. And because she was so well trained to be aware of her surroundings at all times she knew he was there the moment she got out of her jeep. She went about her day going off through the trails on her ATV and going to her paintball course. When she returned back to the house that night she went inside still acting like he wasn’t there. Then she finally went outside and walked into the woods by the tree he was hiding in and pretended to hurt her ankle just to get him to come out of his hiding spot. She invited him back to the house and the rest is history.” Phil concludes the story. 

“But Stark said something about her vocal cords. That wasn’t in anything you just told us.” Steve questions. Before Tony can start off on his self deprecating thoughts Natasha cuts in. “You remember how I said she was kidnapped once when she was fourteen. Well she was kidnapped again when she was sixteen by a rival company of Stark Industries. The men behind it were Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko. Hammer was jealous of Tony’s success and his genius and Vanko believed Tony’s father stole blueprints to the Arc Reactor. They somehow got past J.A.R.V.I.S security systems because they managed to get in the house and take her from her room.” Natasha explains, glancing at Tony every few seconds. 

“But that doesn’t explain the thing about her vocal cords.” Steve states. “I’m getting to that. Anyways she woke up in a dark room shortly after she was taken. She managed to escape the room with a gun she got from one of the security guards. She ran into a dead end in the halls and that’s where they found her. Hammer made a comment how she shouldn’t have tried to escape and that he couldn’t help her now that she had. He left her in the dead end hallway with Vanko. She was just this small girl who barely stood at five feet tall and there he was this huge man standing at five foot eleven. Using the hand to hand combat training Tony and Coulson taught her, she tried to fight him. Hoping to stall for time but he was just too big, so he beat her. She tried to fight back but he got her by the throat and wouldn’t let go until she kneed him in the balls. He dropped her but he recovered quickly and kicked her until she fell unconscious. That's how Clint found her.” Natasha concludes, giving Tony a gentle squeeze. 

“I’m going to guess, he damaged her vocal cords.” Steve commented and you could hear it was a statement more than it was a question. “He did more damage than that but yes her vocal cords were damaged beyond repair. She can still speak but there are days where they bother her and she can’t talk. So Clint taught her and Tony sign language for when they did. This is a full list of her injuries and medication she has to take for the rest of her life.” Phil replied, and the list was pulled up on the screens in front of them. Natasha kept Tony turned away from the screens so he couldn’t see the list again. Steve, Bruce and Thor looked over the list with looks of shock and horror on their faces. 

“Who found her in the hall?” Steve finally choked out. “Agent Barton did. The two of them are very close with them only being two years apart in age. Now I’m sure you can understand why she would be upset and why we must find him and bring him back.” Fury states, in his usual tone but if you listen closely you can hear a hint of worry for the young woman he has come to view as a niece. Fury has two pictures pulled up on the screens and the three men can tell they are the same girl. “The picture on the left is when she was fourteen and kidnapped the first time. She managed to escape that one with only a black eye and a cut lip. The one on the right is when she was sixteen and kidnapped for the last time.” Natasha comments, gently rubbing her hand up and down Tony’s back. 

Everyone remains silent as they let the information sink in. Tony finally turns and faces the screens that still have the pictures of his daughter up. Anyone with eyes could see the pain on Tony’s face when he looked at those pictures and the blame in his eyes. “If I could change it and take it all back where she never had to go through all of that I would. My greatest creation and I wasn’t there to save her from any of it until it was too late.” Tony mumbles, but they all can hear him. Not knowing what to say everyone remains silent just watching the man look at the pictures of his daughter. All of a sudden they all hear an explosion knocking them all over with a few people falling to the floor and some being thrown across the room. 

Natasha and Tony make eye contact and they both nod when they realize the only [person who could find them is the same person they have been looking for. “Barton.” They say in unison. They jump up and break off in different directions Tony brings Steve with him to fix one of the engines. Natasha runs off to look for Clint so she can capture him before he disappears again. The explosion causes Bruce to lose his control on his emotions and he turns into The Hulk forcing Thor to tackle him away from the room and the agents in it. Phil quickly makes his way to the armory and grabs their strongest weapon and runs off to where they are holding Loki. the god escaped the cell and managed to get behind Phil and stab him in the back. 

After falling to the ground Phil shot Loki with the weapon he had and sent the god flying through the wall. He barely managed to get back to his feet and make his way to the hospital wing on the helicarrier. Natasha found Clint and the two of them fought until she managed to hit him hard enough to knock the brainwashing from him and knock him out. Tony got the engine fixed in no time and was back inside the helicarrier and out of his suit to look for Natasha and Clint. Steve ran after him but was stopped by Fury telling him to give the three some time alone.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Avengers To The Rescue

Tony throws open to the nearest door hoping it’s the right one and breathes a sigh of relief when he spots Natasha sitting on the bed next to the bed Clint is strapped to. Clint is on the bed struggling to get out of the restraints holding him to the bed but failing every time. Tony stands in the doorway not knowing what to do as he looks between Natasha and Clint. He finally moves into the room and closes the door and moves to sit next to Natasha. He immediately takes her by the hand to offer her comfort. “He thought I was Chalsea. When he woke up and was disoriented he thought I was her. He called out her name while he was unconscious.” Natasha whispers to Tony. 

Tony gives her hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go. “Let me try.” He offers moving over to Clint. “Barton, It’s Tony. can you hear me?” Tony inquires, looking at the young man before him. Clint stops struggling and tilts his head to the side at the sound of his voice. “Tony?” Clint asks, his voice full of hope that he wasn’t dreaming. “Yeah Clint, it’s Tony.” He confirms, as Clint finally turns his head to look at him. “Chalsea?” Clint asks, needing to know where she is and if she was safe. “She’s fine, she’s safe at the tower. Just worried about you.” Tony replies, removing the bonds from around his wrists. When he was finally free he jumped up in full on panic as Tony’s words sank in. 

“We have to leave now. He is on his way to the tower to open some portal. He knew about the tower way before he took me and the doc. If she is really there then she is not safe, if he finds her he will use her as bait and I don’t want to think about what else he will do to her.” Clint rushes out without breathing. Tony and Natasha share a look before the three of them rush from the room to Fury. They come to a halt in front of the man with Steve, Bruce and Thor next to him. “What is it?” Fury questions. “Tower. Chalsea. Alone. Not Safe. Loki on his way. Need to get there fast.” Tony barely manages to get out between breaths. The more Tony says the wider Fury’s eyes get. 

“Go now! Tony, use your suit. Steve, Bruce, Thor you will fly there with Natasha and Clint in one of the jets. NOW GO!” He commands. Not needing anymore than that they are off Tony to his suit and the others to the jet. Tony is in his suit in record time and flying from the helicarrier shooting off towards New York. The jet is not far behind him with Clint pushing the controls to they’re limit. Fury sent Maria off to find Phil and fill him in on what they found out. Not giving a damn about what the doctors tell him he is dressed and out of the room and with Fury. He wants to go and help and fight but Fury wont let him. They both know that it’s for the best to wait until the team defeats Loki on their own before going in to check on Chalsea. 

Not knowing the danger she is about to walk into Chalsea rounded the corner into the living room from the direction from Clint’s room. Movement from the balcony draws her attention away from the floor towards the big windows. Thinking it was her father coming back to give her an update on Clint she makes her way towards the balcony. Stepping up next to the couch she stops in her tracks because standing there is not the Iron Man suit with her father inside. She froze when the person outside turned back to the window and noticed her. When he gave her an evil smirk she began to panic and slowly step backwards. Her fear skyrocketed when he vanished from view only to appear behind her when she turned to run. 

Her scream was silent as he grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her towards him. Her heart beats uncontrollably in her chest and her breathing becomes shallow causing her to pass out. The man lets out a small evil laugh but drags her back to the couch and drops her down carelessly. He walks back out to stand on the balcony to overlook the city and the people down below. Off in the distance the sun reflects off something shiny heading towards the tower approaching quickly. Tony finally makes it to the tower and lands with the suit being taken off him as he walks towards the penthouse living room all the while staring Loki down. Once inside he looks around for his daughter as Loki follows him inside. Tony’s blood runs cold when he spots his daughter on the couch. He subtly places himself between Loki and his daughter turning to face the god. 

“You’ve invaded the wrong planet and you messed with the wrong girl.” Tony hisses out at the god without any hint of fear. “You dare stand up to me. I, Loki of Asgard.” He barks out. Tony straightens his back to stand tall. “Right, Loki brother of Thor. He’s on his way to see you by the way. I don’t think he liked that you escaped too much.” Tony comments offhandedly while subtly stalling for time and glancing back at his daughter. Loki scowls at him before stomping towards him and grabbing him by the throat. “Do not speak of that big oaf.” Loki hisses before throwing Tony through the window. An Iron Man suit is quickly shot off from a nearby storage compartment after Tony. 

With that the sky tore open and with it came out an army of Chitarui and Leviathans as Tony watched on. Moving quickly into action Tony was shooting left and right as he flew through the sky of New York City. As Tony was fighting the jet holding the others arrived only to be shot by one of the Chitaruri forcing Clint to land. They rush off the jet and look around and move to action. “Stark we’re here!” Steve called out through the coms. “Good, I’m bringing the party to you.” Tony replies, flying around the corner with a huge Leviathan behind him. “Tony, I know you haven’t been to a party in years but I think we need to have a talk about your version of a party.” Natasha comments as they all look behind Tony. 

He brushes her comment off as he flies by them and Bruce transforms into the Hulk killing the Leviathan instantly. Shooting arrows at passing Chitauri Clint keeps looking towards the tower where Chalsea is unaware that she is passed out on the couch. Landing between Clint and Steve, Tony points up to the tower balcony where Loki and the cube are. “I tried to shoot it but there is a force field surrounding it. We need a way to get through it.” He states, with his face still behind his helmet. “And Chalsea, where is she? Is she alright?” Clint asks, stopping his shooting long enough to question Tony. “She’s still up there in the penthouse. She’s unconscious but it doesn’t look like she is hurt, only a small bruise on her arm.” Tony replied.

Up in the penthouse Chalsea slowly stirs awake and looks around the room and spots the man who roughly grabbed her arm. With all the grace and silence of an assassin she rolls off the couch and hides behind the bar. Once behind the bar and out of sight she reaches up and taps on her S.H.I.E.L.D choker and sighs in relief when she feels the vibrations coming from the emblem. Chancing a look out from her hiding place she finds the man gone and flying with some kind of alien. Slowly she walks out into the rest of the room and to the window and looks outside in horror. Off in the distance she spots her father in his Iron Man suit with what looks like Natasha and Clint and three others she doesn’t recognize. 

Tony, Natasha and Clint get the code shortly after Chalsea activated her necklace. From his vantage point on a roof of one of the buildings Clint turns to glance at the tower. “Someone needs to get to the tower, her necklace has been activated. She must be awake and seeing all of this and scared of what’s going on.” Clint comments, his voice ringing out through the coms. Keeping his eyes on the tower he goes back to firing off his arrows. “Barton, you're the closest to the tower. Do you think you can get there?” Tony replies, from somewhere a few blocks away. Reaching back to his arrow case he grabs one of his zip line arrows and aims for the tower’s penthouse. Once the arrow is safely connected to the tower he hooks his end to the building behind him before jumping from the room and sailing through the sky towards the tower. 

Unhooking his bow from the line he lands on the balcony and rushes inside. He spots her standing in the back of the room behind the couch. “Clint?” She signs, looking at him in relief and curiosity. Not wasting another moment he takes long strides until he is standing in front of her and pulling her up into his arms. She melts the moment his arms are around her and she can smell his soothing scent. Her body wracks with silent sobs as he holds her against his chest making his arms wrap around her tighter. “You’re alright, you’re safe, but until this is over you need to hide and don’t come out until Natasha, you’re father or I come and get you.” Clint commands her gently. She taps his back in understanding before pulling back and placing a soft kiss on his cheek before doing as he said. 

He doesn’t leave the penthouse until he knows she is safely locked away and hidden. He runs back and joins the other to end the fight as quickly as they can. He shoots an arrow at an alien close by only for it to drop to the ground along with all the others. He looks up in time to see the hole in the sky close and a shiny red and gold suit be caught by The Hulk. He runs to where Steve, Thor and The Hulk are standing around Tony lying on the ground in his suit with the face plate ripped off. They all sigh in relief when he shouts after the Hulk roars loudly, Tony and Clint lock eyes before looking up at the penthouse.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Clint's Home

Natasha leaves Loki’s scepter with the Dr and runs into the penthouse to where the room Chalsea is hidden. Knocking three times with one final tap on the door, the pad next to the door lights up with “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good” asking for the password. “Mischief Managed.” Natasha states loudly, and a few seconds later there is a loud click and the door slides open. Just like Clint said Chalsea does not move until she sees the redheaded ex Russian spy standing on the other side of the door. She leans back against the wall all the fear draining from her body only to be replaced with pain. “My pills.” Chalsea signs, her hand movements slow and shaky. 

Natasha lurches forward to grab her and pulls her to the living room and places her on the couch only to run off again. Tony and Clint look up the moment they hear her run off and look at each other before Tony follows Natasha and Clint moves to Chalsea’s side. The small eighteen year old instantly curls up against the twenty year old archer resting her left hand on his thigh. “Chalsea, what is it? Are you alright?” He whispers, his lips brushing against her ear. She tilts her head back to look up into his eyes. “Need my pills, Nat has gone to get them.” She replies, her voice coming out rough but with a hint of her usual soft sweet tone. They ignore the others watching them in the room. Clint pulls her closer to his side while leaving slow sweet kisses along the left side of her face. 

Natasha and Tony return both carrying various bottles of all sizes in their hands. They place them on the coffee table in front of the young couple on the couch. “Can you get the pills you need or do you want me to get them for you?” Clint asks her gently. She motions for him to grab them and he does so without complaint. He starts with the pills for her anxiety and ending with her pills for her throat. He watches her carefully as she takes them all with the water Tony handed her. Natasha steps away from them to get word to Fury and talk to the others leaving Clint with Chalsea. Tony gives Clint a silent nod to keep an eye on her before joining Natasha to wait for Fury and Coulson. 

“You’re home.” Clint is broken out of his thoughts by her voice spoken softly in his ear. He turns to look down at her to see her already looking up at him. He pulls her onto his lap and wraps his arms around her waist gently. “I’m home, and I’m never leaving you again, My Love.” He confirms, nuzzling his nose along her jaw. She sighs softly resting her forehead on his shoulder. His left hand rubs up and down her back softly while his right hand runs through her hair soothingly. Chalsea jumps slightly when the elevator dings and Clint is quick to sooth her, leaving butterfly kisses all over her face. Fury and Coulson walk out when the doors open and look over to see Chalsea cuddled up in Clint’s arms. 

The two men walk over to Tony and Natasha to be filled in on what happened. “It’s alright my love, it’s only Fury and Coulson. You are safe now, I’m here I got you.” Clint whispers in her ear sweetly. She melts further into him and her breathing slows down the longer he has her in his arms. “Is she alright? She wasn’t hurt was she? Why is she shaking?” Coulson asks, glancing back and forth between Chalsea and Tony. “She’s not hurt, just a bruise on her arm from where I’m guessing he grabbed her. She’s shaking because she didn’t get to take her pills before it all happened.” Tony explains, rubbing his hands down his face as he sighs. He gazes at his daughter curled up in Clint's arms. Natasha moves closer to Tony and gently rubs his back gently. 

Steve stood a few feet away from Tony, Natasha, Fury and Coulson with Thor and Bruce. The three of them watch on as the group of four talk. None of them notice when the young couple stand from the sofa until Tony's arms are suddenly filled with a small young red haired woman. "Thank you for bringing him home, Daddy." She mumbled, her voice muffled by his chest but everyone can hear her low sweet voice rough from low use. "You don't have to thank me, I would do anything for you, My Greatest Creation." Tony replies, his lips brushing the top of her head. She tightens her hold on her father just as he tightens his hold on her before they both let go and pull out of their embrace. 

Chalsea and Natasha lock eyes and share a smile before throwing each other a wink. “Chalsea, are you alright?” Fury asks softly, shocking the ones in the room who have only heard his hard commanding voice. “I’m fine Uncle Nick, Uncle Phil. Nat got me my pills in time before anything like the last time happened. I’m not hurt, it’s just a small bruise. Nothing I can’t handle. I’ll be good as new in a few days.” She replies, reassuring her uncles in her soft sweet voice. “That’s great sweetheart. But you know better to talk when your vocal cords are sore.” Fury states, unaware that she didn’t tell Clint about it. Chalsea’s body goes stiff and her eyes widen at the last comment. “What?” Clint demands, causing her to look between her father, Natasha, Phil and Fury. 

She doesn’t even hear when he stands up and moves towards her. She manages to squeak out in surprise when she is lifted up and tossed over his shoulder. His footsteps echo throughout the room while he storms off down the hallway towards his room. “Can someone explain why he took her out of the room?” Steve asks, looking around at the four huddled together in confusion. Tony sighs and walks over to the bar and makes himself a drink. “Like we said before, Clint is very protective of her and he gets upset when she doesn’t have her pills.” Tony comments after setting his glass back down. “And him calling her my love? What’s that about?” Bruce inquirers. “He started calling her that a month after she got out of the hospital from the attack when she was sixteen. As for the reason behind it, that is for them to tell you when they are ready.” Natasha concludes, walking up next to Tony and silently asking him for a drink that he happily gives her. 

Chalsea bites her lip as she thinks of something to say to Clint as he storms off to his room. “Clint?” She calls his name softly, he doesn’t react with anything more than a grunt. She sighs and tries to get his attention again. “Handsome? Please say something?” She begs almost quietly. His footsteps falter for just a second at the name she so lovingly calls him and it takes everything in him to remain silent until he gets to his room. Slamming the door shut behind him he sets her down on the foot of his bed and stares into her eyes. “You spoke knowing your vocal cords were sore? What was so important that you thought it would be a good idea to use your voice and not sign language like I taught you?” He asks and Chalsea freezes because his tone is calm without a hint of anger anywhere. It worries her how calm he is being and it takes her a few minutes to form a coherent thought to explain herself to him. 

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have done it but I had good reason to do it. Uncle Phil had just told daddy and I about what was going on and I was getting worried because you were supposed to be home that night and you never showed up. When I heard the elevator I thought it was you but when Uncle Phil walked out my heart sank because I knew that he wouldn’t be here unless something was wrong. He spoke to daddy and gave him files on the team to go over and filled him in on what was going down but for some reason he wouldn’t look at me. That’s when I knew something must have happened to you. I didn’t care about my vocal cords. At that moment all I cared about was you. So as calmly as I could I demanded to know where you were and that was when he told me you were compromised. I’m so sorry Clint, I know you hate it when I’m in pain but I had to know what happened to you.” She whispers, her voice soft and ready to break. 

Not wanting her to cry he pulls her into his arms and holds her against his chest and buries his face in her hair. “Don’t cry beautiful, I hate it when you cry because of me. Please stop crying, I’m sorry for getting angry but I just love you so much.” He whispers against her hair. He holds her as her tears come to a stop and he gently tilts her chin up to look into her beautiful brown eyes he fell in love with when she was sixteen. He slowly brings his face down to hers and connects their lips for the first time in weeks. They both sigh in content at finally being together again. They break away a few moments later and crawl under the covers on Clint’s bed where he holds her close as she slowly falls asleep. He falls not long after her breathing evens out and she melts against him. 

In the penthouse living room everyone begins to wonder where the two have gone and why they haven’t returned. “J.A.R.V.I.S? Where are Chalsea and Clint?” Tony asks his A.I for the whereabouts of his daughter and her boyfriend. “Miss Chalsea and Mister Barton are in his room. After talking for a few moments about the last week the both crawled into bed and are now sleeping peacefully.” The A.I replies before going silent once more. “We won't see either of them until lunch tomorrow. Everyone is welcome to stay and you can all meet Chalsea then. J.A.R.V.I.S will show you to any of the many guest rooms available. Natasha, shall we retire to our room for the night?” Tony comments, turning to his girlfriend at the last comment. The redhead smiles brightly and links her arm with the billionaires and the two bid everyone goodnight and head off to their room. Their exit leaves three very confused team members and two very amused friends. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Introduction's

As was the norm after a stressful mission Clint was up the moment the sun was rising in the sky. This time was a little different, this was no stressful mission. This was him coming home after being mind controlled. Not wanting to wake up Chalsea he left their bed and made his way to the kitchen. He wanted to start on breakfast to keep his mind away from the last week so he decided to make Chalsea’s favorite. Red velvet pancakes and bacon and freshly squeezed apple juice. He was humming to himself when Tony strolled into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. “You're up early. By the looks of the table and how much food is on it I’m going to guess you have been up since the sun started to rise?” Tony comments. Setting the stove to low heat he turned to lean back against the counter next to the stove. “I just couldn’t sleep anymore and I didn’t want to wake Chalsea up. So I came to make breakfast.” He explains with a sigh while running his hands through his hair. 

The thing with Clint is when he is upset or stressed he loves to cook until it is all out of his system. Judging by the amount of food on the table and the amount of food still cooking on the stove he is still really upset. Tony took a step closer to the young archer and patted him on the back gently. “You can’t blame yourself for this Clint. You had no control over what he did to you and no one blames you for it either. You saw how Chalsea was when she saw you here safe and back home to her. She loves you and it shouldn’t matter what everyone else thinks the only opinion that matters is your family. Natasha, Fury, Phil, Chalsea’s and mine are the only opinion you should worry about. I’m going to tell you something you probably don’t know about.” Tony states. “What’s that?” Clint asks, finally looking up at the billionaire. “When I first met you I only tolerated you because you found my daughter when she was kidnapped. But then you started to come around more with Natasha. After what happened to her she retreated into herself and she wasn’t the daughter I watched grow up; she was a shell of her true self. Then the more time you spent with her I saw her slowly come back to that happy, silly, kind, loving, playful girl I raised. You brought her smile back to her and made her happy then you asked to take her out on a date. Of course I was against it, what father wouldn’t be when his little girl was growing up and starting to date.” Tony begins giving him a cheeky wink. 

“Then that night after you dropped her off with a kiss to her cheek and bid her goodnight like a gentleman. She walked inside with this dreamy look in her eyes and this small shy smile on her lips and I knew that you would be around for the long hall. That was the night you got my blessing to date my daughter. You slowly became a son to me and I will forever be proud to call you son.” Tony concludes looking Clint right in the eyes. The two share a tight embrace before a feminine throat clearing breaks them up. The two look up to see Natasha standing in the doorway with a genuine smile on her lips. Ignoring the hug she steps over to the coffee machine. “So Chalsea is still sleeping?” She asks, slowly making three cups of coffee for the three of them. Clint goes back to the food so it doesn’t burn. “Yeah, I didn’t want to wake her up, I’ve been up for awhile.” He explains. As he is turning off the stove and putting the rest of the food on the table the others walk into the room. 

No one sits in the six chairs with the engravings on them. Tony, Natasha, Phil, Fury and Clint take the five of the six chairs leaving the sixth empty for Chalsea. Soft footsteps sound from down the hall and Clint jumps up and pulls out the chair next to him as the small redhead walks around the corner into the room. She smiled up at him in thanks before leaning over and placing a kiss on his cheek once he sat down. “Good Morning Handsome, how did you sleep?” She asks him, using sign language instead of her voice. “Morning Beautiful, I slept fine. How did you sleep?” He asks, replying to her in sign language. She sighs happily as she leans against his side. “I slept better last night than I have in weeks.” She comments. He looks down at his lap knowing full well that it was his fault that she couldn’t sleep because she was too worried about him to sleep properly. 

A throat clearing breaks Clint out of his thoughts and he looks up at the source at the same time as Chalsea. “Oh good morning daddy.” She smiles shyly leaning over to hug him tightly. He chuckles softly at her delayed reaction to the others in the room. “Good morning princess.” He greets back with a fond smile. “Morning Nat, Uncle Nick and Uncle Phil.” She calls out to the other three as she pulls out of her father's embrace. Fury and Coulson throw her a smile while Natasha winks at her playfully. Noticing they are not alone and that there are three others at the table she blushes and smiles shyly. “Oh hello.” She greets in surprise. “Sweetheart, these are Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers and Thor. They are the remaining members of the Avengers team.” Fury points out each individual as he introduces them to her. As she looks between the three of them her eyes widen upon looking further at Steve before looking over to her father. 

“Is he the one you told me about. The one that Grandpa Howard always talked about?” She asks, using sign language again. Her father nods at her questions and her eyes narrow slightly as she turns back to the blonde man sitting across from her. “Mr Rogers.” She greets curtly before turning to the two men on the other side of Clint and smiles at them brightly. “Hello Dr Banner, Mr Thor. I’m Chalsea Stark, it’s very nice to meet you both.” She smiles sweetly. Bruce waves back shyly while Thor smiles a bright beaming smile back with an excited wave. Steve looks around in confusion at the warm welcome they got and the curt one he received. “I hate to eat and run but I must be off. I have to take my pills. Breakfast was wonderful as always Clint.” She states before directing her last comment to Clint with another kiss to his cheek. Placing a kiss on her father's cheek also before leaving the kitchen back to her own room to get ready for the day. 

Waiting a few moments to make sure she was safely in her room and out of earshot Tony looks up at the rest of the table. “Sorry about that Cap, Howard was a little obsessive after your crash. He left behind videos praising you as if you were a god. Chalsea found the videos once when she was still little and watched them all. There were a few in particular that she isn’t very fond of. Those videos are of Howard with me through the years comparing the two of us always putting you higher up on a pedestal and me lower than his inventions. It’s not you she is mad at, it's the things he said. Seeing you is just one big reminder that her grandfather didn’t care much for her father.” Tony explains, apologizing to Steve. 

“She’ll come around just, give her some time to get used to you.” Clint comments before standing from his seat to go find Chalsea. It’s silent for a few minutes after he leaves the room before Fury and Phil stand as well. “We have to head back to HQ, tell Chalsea we will call her later and check in. we will give you all a few days to settle in and recuperate after this following week but you all will have to come in for a debriefing.” Fury comments before leaving with Phil following after him. Walking into his bedroom he hears the shower running in his bathroom and walks in through the open door. He sits up on the counter and looks at the shower door where Chalsea is washing her hair. “Well my love, you really know how to make an exit. I think I saw a tear roll down Fury’s cheek at how dramatic it was.” Clint comments quietly so he doesn’t startle her. She giggles as she rinses the soap from her hair before stepping out from under the water. “Well, when you grow up with only Stark as your father, who has a flair for dramatic entrances and exits, you can’t help but to learn a thing or two. I also admit that Uncle Nick and Mama Nat have that same flair themselves.” Chalsea replied, swiping her hand across the glass to clear away the fog so she can see him better. 

“Oh my love, you are undeniably sassy and playful this morning. Care to share what has you in such a mood today?” Clint asks with slight amusement and fondness in his voice. Chalsea stepped back away from the door to finish her shower while Clint remained on the counter watching her. Silently she reached out and grabbed her body wash and sponge ignoring his last comment for a few more minutes. “I’m probably going to have to apologize aren’t I?” She finally asks after a few more moments of silence. Clint sighs and jumps from the counter and steps towards the shower and opens the door. “No one is going to make you apologize to him for the way you acted my love, but I know it would make you feel better if you did. You and I both know how unbelievably kind, sweet, loving and caring. You also know he isn’t the one you're angry with but you can’t say the things you want to to the person because Howard is dead. But my love you have to know it’s not Steve’s fault Howard was the way he was towards your father. The only one who is to blame is Howard himself, but I’m not going to make you talk to him until you're ready. “ Clint tells her softly. 

Letting his gentle words wash over her as she stood under the spray from the water before finally turning to shut off the flowing water. She grabbed the warm fluffy purple towel that Clint handed her and gently wrapped it around her body. Taking the hand he held out to her, she let him guide her over to the vanity he asked Tony to place in his room for her. He helped her sit down on the soft black and purple bench. He took a fresh towel and gently ran it through her damp hair until it fell down her back in soft ringlets. Grabbing her hair brush he slowly removed all the snarls and tangles leaving her hair silky smooth and bouncing. “Don’t let it get to you my love, your dad told Steve everything after you left the breakfast table. I’ll let you have a few moments to think it all over and get dressed, I’ll be in the shower.” He whispered, brushing a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Placing the hair brush back on the vanity he gave her shoulder and gentle squeeze and walked off to the bathroom to shower. Left to her thoughts Chalsea went through the motions of getting dressed blindly as she thought how to talk to Steve in a way that would make him understand that it’s not him she has the problem with but her long gone grandfather. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Showing Steve The Videos

After Clint left her alone in the room to go and take his own shower Chalsea sat at the vanity deep in thought. She knew it wasn’t Steve’s fault the way her grandfather treated her father but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t tell her grandfather how she felt about his abuse, she was only two years old when he died along with her grandmother. She knew Clint was right, she would have to talk to him eventually and clear the air between the two of them. She didn’t want there to be tension between anyone over her. Her father finally had a bigger team and there were more people for her to talk to. She knew she couldn’t put it off anymore than she already was so with a shake of her head she stood up from her bench and went back into the closet. Dressing slowly so she can gather her thoughts and think of what she will say to Steve. Clint left the room with a lingering kiss to the top of her head to meet with her father. She didn’t know where Steve would be like she knew where the other’s would be. She knew her Uncle Nick and Uncle Phil left just after breakfast and she knew Mama Nat would probably be with her father or in the penthouse living room. 

From the lab Natasha watched as Chalsea stalked from Clint’s room dressed head to toe in black. On her legs she wore fitted black dress pants and on her back he wore a black fitted dress shirt with a frock coat with all the buttons done up. On her feet were a pair of dark green heels that Natasha instantly recognized as helping Chalsea paint. The look was completed with a long billowing black cloak. The ex-assassin took a deep breath as she prepared to be called to wherever Chalsea was heading. Looking over her shoulder she saw Clint and Tony looking at blueprints for new arrows. “Just a heads up guys but our sweet, happy and playful Chalsea is in a Slytherin mood today it seems.” Natasha called over to the two. The two men glanced at each other before looking back to the only woman in the room. “Draco Malfoy Slytherin or Severus Snape Slytherin?” Tony questions with Clint nodding along. Natasha looks back at the screen and her reply needs no thought. “Severus Snape Slytherin.” She answers without pause. The three of them all share a look before quickly running from the lab to be in the living room when she arrives. 

In said living room unaware of the storm of Slytherin rage heading his way Steve sat with his old sketchbook in his lap drawing quietly with his thoughts on the past. Bruce and Thor were also in the room with the Dr showing Thor some things on a tablet. No one looked up when the three newcomers came into the room and sat down, placing themselves where they had a full view of the room. Clint sat nervously while biting his thumb nail while Tony and Natasha were glancing from Steve to the entrance to the living room.The three from the lab ran into the room and sat in various places with a perfect view of the entrance to the living room. Clint sat biting his thumb nail while glancing between Steve and the entrance nervously. Tony and Natasha acted as normal as possible both sitting together with a glass of amber liquid in their hand. Three of the six people in the room are completely unaware of the Slytherin sized rage storm heading right for them. The other three are sitting by to interrupt if necessary but will remain where they are. An alert comes to Tony’s phone bringing his attention to the vaults being opened and certain items being taken. 

Natasha looks over his shoulder down at his phone before the two look up and lock eyes. They both swallow thickly before Natasha throws a pillow at Clint who jumps in his seat slightly. Tony nods once they have the archers attention. Clint’s eyes go wide and he quickly looks back to the doorway to keep an eye out for Chalsea. Off in the distance the sound of clicking heels meets the ears of everyone in the room. The three who know what is about to happen all go pale and freeze in their seats. Along with the clicking of heels is the sound of something being pulled across the floor. When the noise gets closer the other three in the room look up in confusion as they look at Tony, Natasha and Clint. “You are about to meet a Severus Snape sized storm.” Clint finally speaks up. Thor and Steve are lost on who Severus Snape could be but Bruce being from this time and planet knows exactly who Clint is talking about. “Who’s Severus Snape?” Steve asks. “Severus Snape is a character in The Harry Potter series. He is a Slytherin and he is the Head of House, he is also The Potions Master, he’s the professor for that subject. He can be quite mean and has a bit of a temper. What you are about to see is what we have dubbed as a Severus Snape rage storm.” Natasha explains. 

Before anyone can say anything more the moment Tony, Natasha and Clint were waiting for happens. Chalsea storms into the room with two large boxes on a trolley that she is pulling behind her. On her face she wears an impressive glare that even Nick Fury would cower away from. Chalsea walks all the way into the room and up to the tv where she places the trolley off to the left. She turned to face the rest of the room spotting her father, Mama Nat and Clint before finally settling her eyes on Steve. The captain looked slightly uncomfortable at the glare he was getting from the small woman. “Let's make one thing clear before we begin. You are not to speak one single word while those videos play and you are not to interrupt anytime during them. You are to watch them all without comment until the end when I give you permission to do so. You are not to look at either my father or me at any time. You are to keep your focus solely on what is playing on the screen. Do I make myself clear?” Chalsea demands with her hands on her hips. Steve not knowing what to say can only nod his head in confirmation. Chalsea barely nods her head back before calling J.A.R.V.I.S to play the videos. She moves away from the tv and walks over to the couch and sits down next to Clint who quickly pulls her into his side. As the first video begins to play Chalsea’s eyes never stray too far away from her father, Mama Nat and Clint. 

The longer the videos played the angrier Chalsea got at her grandfather and wished he was there so she could give him a piece of her mind. Steve had long since abandoned his sketchbook on the couch next to him and his jaw was hanging open in shock. Tony hasn’t touched his drink once since the first video began and Natasha hasn’t left his side. Clint finally having enough gently took Chalsea’s chin between his thumb and forefinger and brought her face up to look into his eyes. “Just look at me and drown it all out. Keep your eyes on mine and don’t look at the screen. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.” He whispers, his lips lightly brushing against hers. The comfort he gives her in that little action is enough to make her go limp against his side, never once moving her eyes away from him. Slowly she moves closer and their foreheads touch. Clint’s hand moves from her chin to cup her jaw as his thumb strokes her cheek lovingly. The tears in her eyes give away her feelings and Clint pulls her closer to sit on his lap with her back to the room so no one else can see her face. 

After two hours the last video comes to an end and Chalsea hasn’t moved from where Clint is holding her on his lap. Steve stares blankly at the screen before him not knowing what to say to the young woman in the room. Thor and Bruce stay silent looking between the screen, Steve and the other four in the room. Tony stands up from his seat and moves over to the couch next to his daughter. He squats down by the arm and gently rests his hand on her back and rubs soothing circles. “It’s alright princess, you can go to your room for a little while and calm down. You can have that talk with Steve later. You can even take Clint with you. Make sure she is fully calm before coming back here Barton.” Tony whispers soothingly to his daughter before turning to look up at Clint. The archer nods once before tightening his arms around Chalsea’s waist and standing from the couch with her still in his arms. The movement causes her to bury her face in her boyfriend's neck to hide from view. He carries her from the room never looking back at its occupants, his focus solely on the woman in his arms. 

No one knows what to say to break the silence once the two leave the room until Steve stands up quickly and moves to go after them. A hand on his wrist stops him in his tracks and he looks back to see Tony standing there. “Don’t go after them. If you want more answers you will wait for her to calm down and come to you. If you go after them it will only make her more angry and you will never get your answers. I should know, I raised her for eighteen years. My daughter is stubborn. But she is also loyal and kind and sweet and gentle and she is everything to me, I would give up being Iron Man if she asked me to. She won’t do that though, we created him together. Just give her some time.” Tony states his voice full of love and affection when speaking about his daughter. The captain nods stiffly before taking his original seat on the couch. Tony moves back to his seat next to Natasha who gently massages the back of his neck and between his shoulders. 

“So, you raised her on your own?” Bruce questions. The billionaire looks over to the Dr who is leaning forward resting his elbows on his knees as he cleans his glasses. “Up until Chalsea was four years old I was raising her with my wife. She was my high school sweetheart. We got married just after college and Amberly got pregnant in November of 1993. I was so happy to become a father and I thought she was happy to but it was all an act. I never saw it until after Chalsea was born. The abuse started then, it was nothing physical, she never laid a hand on Chalsea. It was more she never took care of her.” Tony began. He told them everything from the moment Chalsea was born up to the moment that Amberly left. He told them of Chalsea’s kidnapping with Natasha filling in the blanks and everything in between. They spent hours talking about Chalsea and her childhood and how she met Clint and Natasha and Phil and Nick. Steve sat silently listening to everything and absorbing it all like it was the most important thing in the whole world and to him it was. This would help him understand the young woman more so they can work out their differences and learn to be friends.


End file.
